Heavy rain, hailstorms, and strong winds have swept across all four districts of North West province, damaging dozens of homes, uprooting trees, and disrupting electricity supply as residents begin picking up the pieces.
In Rustenburg local municipality, flooding left several houses waterlocked in Seraleng and Ramochana. Thirty-three houses were damaged by a windstorm in Mamerotse village, where fallen trees and branches obstructed traffic and affected electricity supply.
In the city of Matlosana, a windstorm affected 29 houses in Kuma. Three informal structures were damaged, while the roofs of 12 RDP houses and 14 formal houses were blown off. Walls were damaged and windows were broken.
Mahikeng residents described terror as the storm hit. One resident recounted: “We had like something fall. Then when we came to check, this wall had fallen down and the water was coming inside the house… and windows from this side were broken. So far, it’s this wall and things that were inside and from the kitchen part is the windows and things that were inside, but we managed to move them to the other side.”
The provincial government has announced it will provide humanitarian assistance. A spokesperson for the disaster management unit confirmed that assessments are being conducted, adding: “Already we have already engaged SASA to provide food security assistance. So we will look at the report and then take it from there, assess each case and look at what interventions can be done.”
The disaster management unit remains on high alert to attend to emergencies.