One person has died and several others injured during a severe storm that passed over the Mthatha area and surrounds yesterday.
The King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality has confirmed that an elderly woman has died and 40 people have been admitted to the Nelson Mandela Academic and Mthatha General Hospitals after they were injured during the hail storm.
According to Garth Sampson from the South African Weather Service, a severe storm passed over the OR Tambo District last night causing damage to many parts of the area, especially at the Mthatha Airport and the Ngwayibanjwa Senior Secondary School. “Winds gusted from almost 0 to 140 kph in seconds,” said Sampson.
KSD Municipality has also confirmed that 11 of its wards have been badly affected by the hail storm.
The municipality announced on its official Facebook page this morning that wards 10,12,13, 14,15,16,17,18,19, 29 and 34 were badly affected by the hail storm.
“We understand there might be more wards affected and members of the public are requested to send additional wards or villages that might be omitted from the list,” the municipality said.
The municipality further said it will despatch teams from various departments within the municipality to assess the damage of the hail storm.
Meanwhile, OR Tambo District Municipality spokesperson Zimkhitha Macingwane said the municipality was still collating information on the hail storm and will issue an official statement during the course of the day.
This is Jumba S.S.S. in Mthatha, EC. The school was hit by the storm yesterday. @DBE_SA @SadtuNational @ECDOEZA @ElijahMhlanga pic.twitter.com/KjXEecA5sn
— Bulelani Mnyanda (@alex_mnyanda) November 18, 2020
