ALMOST two months after a tornado-like storm swept through a vast Midlands area, including Fort Beaufort and Alice, the latter was again hit by a severe storm this past Sunday.
The torrential rain, accompanied by a heavy gusting wind, started falling just after 15:00. In some areas hailstones the size of golf balls littered the streets.
“It was as though the rain was being poured out of buckets from above,” one resident told Komani–Karoo Express.
The area around the local taxi rank and a chicken and pizza outlet, were flooded. Petrol pumps at a local fuel station were partly submerged and taxis were floating like boats in the water.
The flooding was worsened by blocked stormwater pipes that could not handle the volume of water. Taxi drivers had to crawl through their windows and stood on the roofs of their vehicles.
Extensive damage was caused to homes in Alice and the surrounding areas.
According to Abe Lentoor, a retired principal from Hillcrest in Alice, a creche for children in the community was levelled to the ground. “We are now searching for sponsors that can help us rebuild this much-needed facility,” said Lentoor.
In Nkobonkobo village, a multitude of homes were completely destroyed.
A 27–year–old mother died when the wall of a church she was attending in the village collapsed on her. In a similar incident last year, Mzwamadoda Booi (65), died when he was buried under the rubble of a house in Magaleni near Fort Beaufort.
Although municipal spokesperson, Nonceba Madikizela-Cuba, said in a weekly newspaper that the municipality would ask the Human Settlements Department to assist where possible after a disaster management team had visited the disaster areas, victims from last year’s disaster were rather sceptical over the issue.
“I was just given groceries by Social Development after the disaster. All those affected have not heard a word from local government since then. I had to purchase building material on account in order to fix my house,” one of the victims, Nelson Matyila, said.
