A powerful storm tore through the villages of Ngwetsheni and Goxe in KwaBhaca, Eastern Cape, yesterday, unleashing destruction in under 10 minutes and claiming two lives while injuring four others. Strong winds uprooted trees, ripped roofs from homes, downed power lines, and hurled a parked car into a wall, killing its two occupants.
One grieving family member described the heartbreaking loss of a breadwinner: “This was a bread winner in this family, and we were devastated. We are told that our son noticed that the weather was quickly changing and he rushed to lock his car where he had parked it because we don’t have access road here. Now he decided to get inside the car and one villager joined him. We are very devastated. We don’t care much about the houses that collapsed but losing a child is hurting us because his life would never come back will never be replaced. So we really devastated about what actually happened here in this village. It’s the first time we seeing this. So we hope this will never happen again.”
Another resident recounted a terrifying escape as the storm struck: “I managed to come out of the house with my children. My mother was hit by the bricks. We then left to our aunts place. When you come back everything was gone. When I was trying to come out, I found that no, I can’t come out because the door is pushing me back not to go out to stay inside the room and I have to stay in the room till the wind was gone.”
The brief but ferocious storm left 16 homes completely destroyed and six partially damaged, rendering a large number of villagers homeless and traumatised. Villagers in the direct path of the storm reported losing everything they owned.
uMzimvubu Local Municipality officials confirmed the toll while on site. A municipal spokesperson said: “We’ve got two fatalities. Four people were taken to hospital but fortunately the two of them has already been discharged. We’ve got 16 homes that were left homeless and we’ve got six that are partially damaged. So we are here to collect the data and to assist the affected families.”
Disaster management teams from the Alfred Nzo District Municipality remain on the ground, actively collecting data on the extent of the damage. Social workers have been deployed to deliver psychosocial support to grieving and affected families, while emergency food assistance is also being provided.
The Alfred Nzo District Municipality’s disaster management team and social workers are expected to continue their support operations in the villages in the coming days.
This rare and intense weather event has shocked the community, which described it as unprecedented in the area. Authorities are continuing assessments to determine full needs for recovery and relief.