STORM LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION

MP Michael Masilela (C) talking to some of the affected families which he visited.

EZULWINI – A number of tenants and families living around Ezulwini and Lobamba came back to find that their residences had been reduced to rubble following a brief storm yesterday afternoon.

Corrugated iron sheets were all over the place, including atop trees and power lines. The storm is said to have brought minimal rainfall, while it was aggressive with wind that brought down huge trees.

The storm that ravaged across Lobamba is said to have lasted for not more than 30 minutes, according to residents.
Some of the homesteads visited by this publication’s team had their roofs blown off.

These homesteads and bedsitters are situated around Gelekeceni and Buka, in Ezulwini. A Hlophe homestead had the roofs of all the houses in the compound blown off, leaving over 10 family members with nowhere to sleep.

Live electricity lines were found lying along the road, while family members and neighbours were assisting each other in getting rid of the rubble within the houses. Some people were seen fixing their roofs, while others were taking what was saved during the storm to safety.

Thuli Hlophe, an elder at the Hlophe homestead, said the family was devastated by the disaster. Despite the tragedy, she thanked God that no life was lost. Most of the houses had huge cracks emanating from where the rafters had been affixed.

Pointing at one of the houses, she said it was difficult to estimate the damage as the houses had furniture and other utensils that were destroyed during the storm. Without willing to commit herself, Hlophe reluctantly estimated the damage to be over E200 000.

She noted that the houses needed to be rewired before power could be installed as conduits and electric wires had been tossed aside by the strong winds as the roof was blown off. “I was at my home in Mbabane when I was informed that the houses had been blown off,” she said.

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