Victims of KZN tornado hope for quick assistance

Halalisile Mkhwanazi from Inanda, 26km from Durban, has been squatting in one room at a neighbour’s house with 14 of her children and grandchildren.

Mkhwanazi’s six-roomed home was among 50 houses in her community that were damaged or destroyed by a tornado and heavy rainfall last week. Most people were given emergency accommodation at community halls, while some chose to move in with neighbours with whatever belongings they could salvage.

A day after the devastation, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda walked through the community to assess the damage. They said engineers would assess the damage to homes and find out which families needed building materials.

Mkhwanazi said she hoped the process could be fast-tracked.

“I’m left with nothing. I don’t have money to repair my house,” said Mkhwanazi.

Another victim, Sphelele Mbatha, lost everything, including her ID and other important documents. She said she has not been able to go to work since the tornado hit over a week ago.

She said she and others had been hoping to get building materials and food parcels but nothing had been provided yet.

Xolani Lushaba, community leader and community police forum member, said they had been helping some residents guard their houses that were standing open. He said they had hoped that the government would have sent trucks with building materials by now.

Head of communication at eThekwini municipality, Lindiwe Khuzwayo, said local, provincial and national human settlement departments were working together to supply materials to the families.

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