Death and damage in wake of storm
A FEROCIOUS storm killed one person in a tavern, injured 80 others including 23 children, ripped off roofs and battered down walls when it tore through King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal area and villages on Monday.
People suffered broken bones and cuts as sheets of zinc were whipped through the air by the gusts or when the walls of their homes collapsed.
Residents were calling it a tornado, but SA Weather Office spokesman Garth Sampson said the high winds had not twisted but had followed a straight line.
It took only 20 minutes of climatic fury to render hundreds of people homeless.
The storm smashed through a number of wards in Mthatha and Mqanduli knocking down power lines, snapping and uprooting trees which were strewn across the vital N2.
One sheet of corrugated iron flew four metres into the air and thumped into an electric pole where it was found impaled later.
Damaged is expected millions of rands.
Five church halls and schools were also damaged.
The full extent of the disaster was revealed by provincial health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo who yesterday said 23 children were among the 70 people treated for multiple fractures, and head and internal injuries.
“Some have now been admitted to Nelson Mandela Central Hospital.
“Some people are in a critical condition and at least one person has died in hospital,” said Kupelo.
Cooperative government and traditional affairs provincial spokesman Mamnkeli Ngam called the disaster “quite massive”.
More than 20 villages were affected. Residents were hurt by debris and walls being blown down, vehicles were damaged, electricity poles keeled over and lines lay on the ground.
Schools and churches were severely damaged.
So far, damage and injuries were reported in ward 16 in the Ngcengane area, ward 30 in Payne, ward 33 in Qweqwe and surrounding villages, to run into also ward 32 at Maqhinebeni and surroundings.
Villages which also bore the brunt, were Vidgiesville, KwaLindile, Mabheleni, Ngqarhi and Matyengqina, upper and lower Nqwarha, Luxolweni, Nxele, Mazizini, Thafeni, Ndlunkulu, Manzothweni, Bhavuma and Majwarheni.
Provincial emergency medical services, police and traffic officers and scores of volunteers worked around the clock to help the injured and to start clearing the wreckage.
“Rapid damage assessment will be done within 48 hours, followed by a detailed assessment, parallel to a preliminary report. Within 72 hours, the focus will be on fixing the situation within available resources,” Ngam said.
Shocking devastation was seen by the Dispatch at Qweqwe, Old Payne, New Payne, Zimbane and Maqhinebeni,
Almost every house on the west of Old Payne was damaged. Dumane Bebe, 63, died when a tavern wall fell on top of him.
Mthunzi Bebe, 76, said he had lost his brother and their home.
“The tavern owner said my brother was injured and died when he was celebrating the new year with friends,” a traumatised Bebe said.
The owner of 2010 Tavern, Zamikhaya Abenta, said 10 men were at the tavern when the storm hit.
“The concrete wall fell on them and trapped them. The wall was too heavy to lift but we managed to retrieve them after about 20 minutes by breaking it into pieces. He died at Mthatha General Hospital,” said Abenta.
Pastor Malibongwe Mlungwana of the Umtata Christian Centre in Old Payne estimated the damage to his property, furniture, the church hall and sheep at more than R2-million.
“The whole church hall is flattened and the wall fell over 13 of my sheep killing them instantly.”
Pregnant Thandokazi Dondolo, of Upper Ngqwarha near Mqanduli, collapsed and was rushed to hospital after her four-year-old son was trapped inside a car by a falling wall. Her son was found uninjured. O R Tambo District Municipality’s disaster authority set up a joint operating centre in the municipal offices to coordinate the rescue effort.
“We have set all disaster management partners on alert mode.
“We are asking all communities, especially those in wind- and flood-prone areas, to carefully monitor weather developments and take all the necessary precautions as the threat of heavy wind and rainfall still looms over some villages,” said O R Tambo District mayor Nomakhosazana Meth.
Eskom reported technicians were hard at work restoring electricity supply to 60 000 residents in Elliotdale, Mqanduli, Mthatha and surrounding areas.
Eskom warned the public to treat all lines and infrastructure brought down by the storm as live and dangerous. —