Devastation in uMfolozi: Homes left in ruins after the storm.
Image: Facebook/ uMfolozi Municipality
UMfolozi Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is reeling after a storm ripped through several areas on Sunday night, leaving a trail of destruction and affecting over 70 households.
Mayor Xolani Bhengu and disaster management teams visited the hardest-hit areas, including Ward 17, to assess the damage, which included roofs being completely blown off and widespread power outages due to fallen electricity poles. The municipality is now compiling a comprehensive report to seek assistance for the affected residents as the extent of the damage across Wards 7, 8, 9, and 17 becomes clear.
Bhengu said the storm hit on Sunday. On Monday, the municipality sent the disaster management team to gather information to be forwarded to provincial and national departments.
“We would like to start by expressing our condolences to the chief of the nation, Inkosi Mthiyane, for the damage that occurred in the chief’s area. We express our condolences to the entire community that was affected. Almost 70 or more homes were affected. The majority of them had their roofs blown off” Bhengu said during a visit to affected areas on Tuesday.
Mayor Xolani Bhengu surveys the damage in Ward 17 following the recent storm.
Image: Facebook/ uMfolozi Municipality
“We also saw that large electricity poles fell, and others were cut and Eskom is already making preparations to restore electricity, as the whole area is without power,” Bhengu said.
Ward 17: The hardest-hit area, with roofs blown off and power outages reported.
Image: Facebook/ uMfolozi Municipality
The incident comes after the Climate Change Council convened earlier this month, where KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said climate resilience must be embedded in the province’s infrastructure, policies, minds and behaviours.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za