The preliminary evaluation of storm damage in the Lowveld is complete
The City of Mbombela was the most affected by the storm that hit the Lowveld region on November 21.
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), responsible for the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, concluded its preliminary assessment of the damages from the storm that uprooted trees and damaged buildings and infrastructure .
The City of Mbombela (CoM) was the municipality most affected by last week’s storm, followed by the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality.
The storm, accompanied by heavy downpours, hit the Lowveld region on Tuesday November 21.
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The provincial Cogta spokesperson, Lindiwe Msibi, said it had had a huge impact in the CoM. At Mataffin three families received food parcels after they had lost their house, furniture and food in the storm. At Cairn, the roofs of nine houses were blown off and the residents were supplied with tarpaulins.
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Part of i’langa Mall was flooded. In Anderson Street, some buildings had their roofs blown off. Three car accidents were reported in Mbombela, but there were no fatalities. Some streets in the city had to have uprooted trees removed.
In Barberton, 13 houses had roofs blown off, and the residents were given tarpaulins. In Tekwane South, nine homes were affected, with only one household needing a food parcel.
In KaNyamazane, one house has been supplied with tarpaulins, but the assessment of this area is still ongoing. In KaMagugu, electric poles and billboards were uprooted.
Some infrastructure in the region is already in the process of being repaired. Nkomazi and Bushbuckridge local municipalities were not affected.
No monetary estimation of damages is available at the moment.
