THE heavy rains may have brought joy in drought-hit areas, but many rural families were left destitute after strong winds damaged their homes.
The Alfred Nzo district, which is prone to bad weather, was affected by severe weather changes over the past two days.
Some of the worst affected areas include
Lugelweni, Nyathini, Santombe and Sikhumbeni villages in KwaBhaca.
Andiswa Mngweba had to sleep at a neighbour’s house after the side of her mud house collapsed and bricks landed on her bed.
“One minute it was hot, the next there were strong wind and heavy rains,” she said.
“My house just came crashing down. It is by God’s grace that I was not hurt.”
Her neighbours helped her to rebuild the house.
Another resident, Siphokazi Cekiso, said her family phoned at work, telling her their roof had fallen onto another house.
“The cupboards were damaged and some of our groceries got spoiled,” she said.
Umzimvubu Local Municipality spokeswoman Nokhanyo Zembe said disaster management visited several villages affected by the bad weather.
“Disaster management is busy assessing damage and determining how much assistance will be needed by those affected.
“So far, we know that more than 14 families were affected, with one family left homeless.”
Lulama Pheme of the SA Weather Service told Daily Sun that heavy rains were expected on the eastern side of Mzansi up until the end of yesterday, clearing today.
