Storm leaves many Giyani residents in the cold

MANY residents were left without shelter after a storm hit Giyani last week.

The storm blew down roofs and caused severe damage to roads and power lines.

According to the Giyani Municipality’s spokesperson, Steve Mabunda, the storm caused more damage in villages than in the townships.

“So far we’ve received only six reports of damage from Section F.

“However, there are more than 30 houses affected at Xikukwani village and around 20 at Makoxa,” said Mabunda.

He said the municipality was still waiting for more reports from councillors to ascertain exactly how much damage was caused.

“The municipality formed a Joint Operation Committee, which consists of several departments such as the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and home affairs to improve the response time to help those who have been affected by the storm.

“By engaging various departments, we aim to ensure every department assumes its responsibilities on the spot. This will include servives such as IDs and birth certificates that were lost in the storm or food parcels for those who were affected by the storm,” he said.

Ester Mashaba, one of the residents whose home in Xikukwani village was damaged during the storm, said it all happened so fast that there was no time to prevent anything from being soaked.

“The roof went off first, and while we were still baffled by the sudden chill of rain hitting us from above, the walls collapsed, crushing the beds and other furniture,” said Mashaba.

“It was sheer luck that my three children and I were all in the same room when the walls collapsed, otherwise it could have ended badly,” she said, adding that she and her family sought refuge with neighbours until their house could be rebuilt.