Storm leaves trail of destruction

The informal area of New Kultsha in Ward 99, Khayelitsha, was left strewn with building materials such as zinc sheets, wood and cardboard from blown over shacks after a massive storm hit the Cape over the weekend.

Residents say they had never experienced such a storm before.

Baden Powell Road, which links to Mew Road behind Monwabisi informal settlement, was closed due to sand covering the road.

One of the big retailers, Spar in Harare, had its roof blown off during the night.

Some schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts as well as the Helderberg were closed on Monday as a result of severe storm warnings.

When Vukani visited New Kultsha, residents were in disbelief that they had escaped the storm with no injuries when their shacks were uprooted and blown away.

However, many were still clueless about how they were going to rebuild their homes.

Resident Yoliswa Soncentywa said the storm made it difficult to fall asleep but she managed to finally get some rest only to be awoken by a terrifying sound as her three-roomed shack was uprooted and blown away just before 1am.

“I was worried when I could not see my six-month-old grandchild after the shack had been blown away. We found the baby under the bed which had flipped around.

"We slept at my neighbour’s shack until the morning and I do not have the slightest idea of where to start rebuilding my house.

“As much as I'm glad that no one was injured or died, I’m worried because I do not have money to rebuild my house.

“I appeal to the government to help us with building material so that we can get our lives back together,” she said.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said he was asleep when his shack was blown away.

He is grateful no one was injured or lost their life.

Ward councillor, Lonwabo Mqina, said he was very sad that people had lost their homes and possessions.

However, he said he was also grateful that no lives were lost.

He said when he woke up around 8am he had dozens of missed calls from people in his ward who wanted to alert him about the chaos caused by the storm.

He said as the leader and face of this community, people look to him for answers and a sense of hope.

But when he saw the extent of the damage he could not help but weep in silence. He prayed the City would intervene to assist his people.

“I’m pleased that (Disaster Risk Management) did an assessment and promised to bring relief. I hope that as leaders we can bring solutions to some of the most urgent needs such as houses.

“I say again, I’m glad that no one has lost their lives. I call and plead with every stakeholder which has the capacity to extend a helping hand,” he said.

The South African Weather Service had issued a warning of strong to gale force winds in the early part of this week.

Cape Town mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, thanked their frontline service staff who worked in difficult and often dangerous conditions around the metro.

He said he witnessed their teams working in various informal settlements to coordinate emergency responses, NGO assistance, and survey damage to people’s homes.

Baden Powell Drive had been reopened following the clearing of debris.

By the early afternoon on Monday, the City had already restored power supply in many of the roughly 30 storm-affected areas across the city, while work continued to restore supply in the remaining areas including Mfuleni, KTC, Philippi and Gugulethu.

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic and shelter in Khayelitsha were hard hit by the storm and are appealing for help.

The storm damaged fences, left roofs leaking, and caused damage to two of the clinic’s outdoor heaters, used to heat the outside hospital cages.

“The cost to rectify the damage and to purchase new heaters will be between R30 000 to R40 000,” said general manager, Heidi May. “This is an unexpected cost we were not planning for and it puts strain on our budget.”