Forgotten victims of oThongathi tornado
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Three months have passed since a destructive tornado swept through the oThongathi area on June 3, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake, and many households continue to grapple with the aftermath as they struggle to rebuild their shattered lives.
The tornado tore through the area, leaving 12 people dead, uprooting trees and affecting 7 000 households.
“The Mercury” visited the Newtown area of oThongathi – the worst affected area – on Monday and found that recovery efforts are ongoing.
While some households have completed their repairs, others are still in the process of rebuilding and removing rubble from their properties.
Many homes still have their roofs and windows covered in plastic as a temporary measure of protection.
Hlengiwe Msweli, 61, has not had any repairs done to her home. Along with her husband and two grandchildren, she sleeps in a caravan parked next to their damaged home.
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Msweli said she feels forgotten as her neighbours had donors help with building material, especially with the roof. “We managed to get a sail to cover the roof, but the wind keeps blowing that away.
“It is very difficult because my furniture is still in this house and we can not fit it in this small caravan. Rainy days are the worst because there is nothing we can do but watch our belongings get soaked in the rain.”
Despite the extensive damage to her home, including most of the roof blown away and the remaining walls cracked, Msweli perseveres by continuing to clean and maintain the structure. She still prepares meals for her family in the building’s kitchen, relying on a bonfire as a makeshift cooking method.
She said she is hopeful that someone will come to her aid and help to restore her home.
“It is very painful that other families are back inside their houses – I did not even get my roof fixed. We only live off my husband’s old-age grant, therefore there is no way we can afford to fix the roof.”
At least four families are still staying at the Newtown Community Hall, with some still rebuilding their structures and others still waiting on assistance as their homes were completely destroyed, according to Newtown community leader Sthembiso Moyo.
“Donors seem to be running out of funds to continue working quickly, but they promised that they will raise money to help the displaced. A lot of the families are still in temporary shelters. We still need a lot of help rebuilding and we call on anyone who has the means to assist, to do so,” said Moyo.
Soon after the tornado hit, emergency rescue workers, provincial disaster management authorities and aid organisations hit the ground running, providing relief to the affected people.
After the storm, different NGOs came together and formed what is now known as the Tongaat Tornado Disaster Relief Committee and are still providing relief to the affected.
Committee member Logie Naidoo said about 75% of the work has been done in terms of rebuilding. He said they targeted homes that are not insured and assisted them with building materials.
Naidoo said they had assisted about 76 homes in Newtown, 46 in the Magwaveni area and 10 in Sandfields.
He also said that the committee was greatly assisted by Mani Govender, who provided six of his engineers who did pro bono inspections in these areas.
“There is an amazing partnership between the organisations in the committee and they have been assisting communities in oThongathi for many years. We raised the funds through many initiatives and worked together, trying to negotiate better prices in building warehouses,” said Naidoo.
The association is still sourcing more funding to continue their projects.
“We want to finish what we started. We will definitely assist those who are still living in the community hall.
We will be meeting with the association to discuss that, as well as our plans to re-green our areas near the beach which were destroyed by the tornado.”
Naidoo commended the efforts of community members who came forward to assist with repairs.
The Mercury