A family has been left homeless after a hail and windstorm ripped off the roof of their two-roomed house on Jokes Farm, Dannhauser area. A child in the area died after being struck by lightning.

Thursday’s storm also damaged Black Bank Primary School where a tree blew over on to the administration block and on to one of the classrooms.

Chris Thanjekwayo whose home was badly damaged said the family had been left ‘with virtually nothing’.

“Groceries and even the children;s school books have been destroyed. My heart is sore because I am not working and live on piece (part-time) jobs.”

The family is now crammed in a small shack that survived the hail storm. “We do not have food to eat. I do not know where I am to get the money from to fix my two-roomed house. We are living in fear of more rainfall,” Ms Thanjekwayo said.

Trees and telephone lines were also damaged during the hailstorm. Black Bank Primary School principal Magayiza said he was thankful that the children had already left when the storm struck.

He said the department was informed about the disaster and they had already visited the school to inspect the damage. The Dannhauser disaster management department was not available for comment.