Help is coming for storm victims in Hazyview, says MEC Mandla Msibi
Ehlanzeni district executive mayor Cllr Jesta Sidell, who accompanied Msibi, cautioned communities to evacuate floodline areas and to avoid crossing flooded waterstreams and rivers during this rainy season, as more rain is predicted during this period.
Help is on the way for the victims of the deadly storm that rocked the area within the City of Mbombela and surrounds on Friday.
This is a promise made by the MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs, Mandla Msibi, during his visit to the affected families, schools and healthcare facilities in Hazyview on Saturday.
The storm claimed the lives of three people and has left three schools damaged and over 150 houses and families in a state of despair.
The affected schools are Inkunzi High, Siphumelele Secondary and Lundanda High.
Msibi had to cut short his meeting outside the province to come down and access the damage and interact with the affected people on the ground.
“We are here as government not only to access the extent of the damage, but also to assure you that we care, and we feel your pain as caused by the storm. No one can really plan for such disasters, and this is the reason we are here today – to see what we can do as government of the people. I don’t want to make promises, but our wish from where I am standing is for these affected communities to get help,” said Msibi.
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He was accompanied by the district executive mayor, Cllr Jesta Sidell, who has cautioned communities to evacuate flood line areas and to avoid crossing flooded waterstreams and rivers during this rainy season, as more rain is predicted during this period.
“We received with great sadness and shock the news of this disaster.
Initially, we received information that there were about 50 houses damaged, but upon coming down here to access the damage, we realised there were actually over 150 houses affected. And all of these affected families need urgent attention. Since we are a disaster-prone district and such disasters are experienced during this time of the year, we always have a team on standby to ensure that we are able to respond to our communities in as far as providing necessary help.
“One cannot plan for disasters, but still, we need to appeal to our communities to move to safer areas whenever there are floods,” said Sidell.
She hinted that the Department of Home Affairs assisted those who lost their belongings during the storm. She said blankets and tarpaulins were distributed to identified families as relief measures.
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“Our disaster management team has already begun to assemble collapsible structures as temporary measures for the families whose houses were totally destroyed,” she said.
The storm also caused major damage to the infrastructure and power lines in Hazyview.
The Red Cross activated its volunteers to join the disaster management teams for the distribution of relief material.
The City of Mbombela, through its MMC for community safety, Phindile Mboweni, said it was still in shock following this natural disaster. It urged community members to be vigilant and always on guard, since there are predictions of more heavy rain.
