Disaster management teams have been activated across the North West to assess the extent of damage caused by severe weather that swept through parts of the province over the weekend, damaging homes and public facilities.
Heavy rainfall, accompanied by strong winds, damaged several homes, with roofs blown off in some communities.
According to the North West Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Department, the roofs of 10 houses were blown away in different villages in Ratlou Local Municipality, while four houses were affected in Tswelelang in Maquassi Hills Local Municipality.
A number of houses were also affected in Motlhabane, Motangwaneng, Witranjie, Obakeng and Molatedi in the Bojanala Platinum District.
Public facilities were also damaged, including Walter Letsie Primary School in Greater Taung, Ikgomotseng Primary School in Mamusa, Boitumelong Clinic in Lekwa-Teemane and Mogoditshane School in Moses Kotane Local Municipality.
“Provincial, district and local disaster management teams have been activated and are on the ground conducting assessments across the province to establish the full extent of the damages,” the department said.
The teams are also coordinating interventions and humanitarian relief for affected communities, with relevant provincial government departments and stakeholders, including the Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency.
The North West Department of Education has also reported that strong and destructive winds damaged more than 20 schools in the province, including damage to roofs and mobile classrooms.
The severe weather was not confined to the North West. In Gauteng, heavy rainfall resulted in localised flooding in parts of Johannesburg, with roads becoming waterlogged and vehicles submerged in the Doornfontein area.
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services also reported that eight families were evacuated from an apartment block in Linden after strong winds ripped off a large section of its roof. No injuries were reported.
In the Northern Cape, heavy rainfall over the weekend damaged roads and infrastructure, with some roads in Kuruman temporarily closed after a crossing overflowed. Teams were deployed to assess the damage and coordinate support to affected communities.
The South African Weather Service had issued severe weather warnings for several provinces over the weekend, including the North West, Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, with warnings for heavy rain, flooding, damaging winds and hail in affected areas.
CoGTA has urged residents to remain vigilant, closely monitor official weather updates, avoid unnecessary travel during severe weather and move to safer locations if their homes or structures are vulnerable to strong winds.
The Provincial Disaster Management Centre will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates as verified information becomes available. – SAnews.gov.za
