Komani counts cost after hail damage

Komani started off the new year with another thunder and hailstorm which damaged homes on Tuesday afternoon.

A portion of the CBD and some residential areas were badly affected by the weather.

Trees toppled on to roads, blocking traffic and trees also fell on to power lines, causing outages.

Many households had their windows broken by the hail.

Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said it was fortunate there were no fatalities, but a number of households suffered physical damage.

“So far we have not received any reports of severe damage.”

Princess Mnyamana of Top

Town in Livingstone, said: “All our windows are broken, the roof’s leaking, beds and other furniture are wet; it’ sa disaster.”

Kowa said the disaster management team was assessing the damage.

The municipality would work closely with the disaster management team, who were now clearing roads of trees.

“The areas mostly affected are Top Town, Komani Central and Sandringham.”

Parts of Mlungisi township have been without electricity in the past week due to technical issues. Outages were caused in December by heavy thunderstorms.

Kowa said during the blackout, the municipality encountered a critical issue related to a Mlungisi transformer.

They had to exercise caution and conduct thorough testing, which included sending oil samples for analysis.

“This was essential to prevent any potential damage to the transformer and ensure the long-term reliability of the electrical infrastructure.”

The testing process took longer than anticipated.

“The results of the oil sample testing were only received on Monday.

“Our teams immediately initiated the necessary repairs to address the identified issues.

“The repairs were successfully completed, and power has been fully restored.”

Last week, 61 houses were reportedly flooded in the Enoch Mgijima region.

“One house was destroyed and a water tank factory was flooded,” Chris Hani district municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said.

Last year, storms hit the municipality several times, needing residents of informal settlements like Silvertown to be evacuated.

More than 1,000 people were affected at the time, including businesses like Queens Casino and McDonald’s.

“Our teams are still on the ground conducting assessments, working with role players including local municipalities and relevant sector departments such as human settlements and social development,” Ganyaza said.

“According to the preliminary report, six wards were affected by inclement weather in Enoch Mgijima.”