STORM LEAVES 2 DEAD, OVER 8 000 HOMELESS

MBABANE – Two people have been hospitalised, while two others died following the storms on Friday and Saturday.

According to a report issued by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), a total of 1 658 households were affected with approximately 8 217 rendered homeless. The storm affected various parts of the country. At Gege, Siyendle on Saturday, a house collapsed on an elderly couple.

Interview

In an interview with a resident of the area, Ncobile Ntuli, she stated that many residents were left homeless following yesterday’s hailstorm that destroyed most of their homesteads, while the roofing in some structures was blown away. Ntuli said property worth thousands of Emalangeni was destroyed in the process, including furniture. She stated that the two who were admitted were husband and wife and the walls collapsed on them while they were asleep. “They are currently admitted to Mankayane Government Hospital.” NDMA Communications Manager Wandile Mavuso said following Friday’s hailstorms, they conducted an assessment to determine the extent of the damage caused by the extreme weather conditions. He stated that at Siyendle, there were nine households and 72 people who were affected.

Mavuso said they responded to families and distributed tents, further noting that predictions were that the storms would be experienced again. He confirmed that one of the deaths occurred at Ngwempisi on Friday. Mavuso said the assessment was carried out on Saturday for the damage done on Friday and yesterday for the damage that happened on Saturday. Mavuso stated that the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions did not report any damage to property for Friday, while Manzini and Hhohho regions were affected. He stated that Manzini was the most affected. Mavuso noted that two bridges at Ntondozi were severely damaged, while vegetables and crops were also not spared in some of the areas. Furthermore, he noted that there was damage on vehicle windscreens and bodies. He also stated that most of the damage caused by the storms were on roofing and windows which were hit hard by hail.

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