Severe thunderstorms over the festive period have left a trail of destruction in its wake, causing millions of rands in damage to municipal infrastructure, levelling a number of houses to the ground and leaving hundreds of residents displaced in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.

A public announcement issued by the Emadlangeni Municipality in Utrecht described the storms that occurred on December 26 and 27 as ‘the most severe the area has ever experienced’.

According to local ward councillor, Inus Dekker, more than 80% of Utrecht has been without power since the storms hit and it could be months before electricity is restored.

Dekker, the former Director of Engineering at Emadlangeni, said a tornado ripped through the town on December 26, knocking flat about 150 transmission poles supplying electricity through overhead lines.

“In my 60 years living in Utrecht, I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” said Dekker. “I mobilised a few guys and we pulled up about 30 poles to temporarily restore electricity in some areas, but the municipality will likely employ contractors for the repairs because it doesn’t have the expertise or the resources to do it themselves, nor do they have the funds …So it’s a waiting game now.”

“The affected communities far outweigh the capacity of the municipal teams,” confirmed Emadlangeni Municipality in its public announcement.

“While the municipality attempted to undertake some repair work, it must be noted that the total restoration of power is a massive task given the historic state of our infrastructure and now exacerbated by the extent of the storm damage,” explained Emadlangeni spokesperson, Ayanda Mabaso.

“This is the reason electricity supply has been unstable. At this stage it will be impossible for us to determine when we will have full restoration of power until the necessary considerations are made and funding sourced.”

Mabaso assured the community that the municipality is doing its best to address this situation with the limited resources at its disposal.

“Currently we are undertaking repair work at the mini substation located opposite Rally Supermarket. The fault has been identified with the underground medium-voltage (MV) cable, which has impacted the water works plant, as well as affected residential customers and local businesses,” he said.

According to Mabaso, 491 households in Utrecht were assessed for storm damage and 123 families, whose homes were completely destroyed, are being housed in the Vaalbank community hall, a church in Ward 3, and at either relatives’ or neighbours’ homes.

Three people received urgent medical care for injuries they sustained during the violent storm.

He continued, “The Department of Human Settlements began with the verification for temporary residential units (TRUs), on December 30. To speed up the process, TRUs will be procured while the assessments are on-going. All relevant stakeholders, government departments and NGO’s are on board rendering support to the affected victims. This includes Gift of the Givers, SA Red Cross, Cogta (the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), the Department of Social Development, and SASSA (the South Africa Social Security Agency). We urge all affected families to ensure that their details are captured on the relevant assessment lists to receive appropriate assistance.”

Mabaso thanked residents who have come forward to lend a hand to the less fortunate.

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