VIDEO: Zandspruit community licks its wounds after storm

Ward 117 councillor, Victor Mafinya, took Randburg Sun on a tour of some of the worst affected parts of Zandspruit after Monday’s severe storm.

The storm that battered the informal settlement left 67 families without shelter and basic supplies.

Some homes still lay crushed under giant trees and some are mostly inaccessible due to blockages and dangerous fallen power cables.

WATCH: A tour after Zandspruit storm

Zandspruit resident, Xolani Zitha, explained how his family narrowly avoided disaster.

“My whole family had to run out of the house when the tree fell,” he said. “We have to sleep here [in the open]. If it rains, there is nothing that we can do.”

“My child was in bed when the tree was falling, but luckily she managed to escape,” said another resident, Palesa Booi. “There is another tree above my house, and it must get removed.”

Mafinya said that he has appealed to Johannesburg City Parks to remove large trees dangerously looming over hundreds of homes.

“If another disaster happens, these trees will cause big problems,” Mafinya added.

“We now realise that environmental changes are starting to affect us. It is no longer just shack fires that worry us.

Storms and tornadoes are things that we are not used to. I have appealed to [Mayor] Herman Mashaba to fast-track the removal of these trees. The ground is soft and the roots are loose, so they may even fall over without another storm.”

If you would like to find out how you can assist the affected communities of Zandspruit, Muldersdrift, Honeydew and Diepsloot, you can find out how by reading this article:

#ICYMI: How to assist communities of Zandspruit, Muldersdrift, Honeydew and Diepsloot