North West Rainstorms Destroy Over 100 Homes, Moretele Municipality Hit Hard
- A severe rainstorm hit Mahikeng, causing property damage and loss of life due to insufficient drainage
- Over 100 people became homeless due to the storm wrecking their houses and many also lost their animals
- Residents accused the local municipality of not supporting them in weatherproofing their homes against natural disasters
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MAHIKENG - North West province has been experiencing heavy rainstorms, especially in Moretele Municipality in Mahikeng, where more than 100 properties were damaged, mostly due to insufficient drainage.
The South African Weather Services (SAWS) has issued extreme weather warnings for the province as more heavy rainfall is expected in the upcoming days.
According to SABC News, residents asked their local municipality to assist them in taking both precautionary and reactionary measures against the rain but to no avail. Many people have flooded homes and no way of fixing the issue.
Source: Getty Images
Eastern Cape also experiences extreme weather
Last week, a heavy thunderstorm caused significant damage in the OR District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, including property damage and loss of life. News24 reports that six people and 233 animals were killed by the storm.
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Besides the deaths that took place, the storm also resulted in 142 people becoming homeless due to property damage and 19 people sustaining injuries that required hospital treatment. SAWS has warned residents of the municipalities that further severe storms could occur in the next few days.
"These storms could contain large amounts of small hail, heavy downpours, excessive lighting and strong damaging winds," SAWS said.
Reactions to harsh storms and heavy rainfall
Mzwandile Pikoli said:
"So sad that nobody can help them permanently. The government must wake up and build houses for them. Every year fires and floods destroy people's shacks there."
Abby Scholtz asked:
"Where are the ward counsellors to assist the people?
Stephanus Jesaja Heunis remarked:
"I knew it's gonna snow on Christmas."
Bonga Rozani shared:
"So much to deal with for these guys. The poor drainage system in Mafikeng and lack of tools and transport to combat their work. Saw them struggling to unblock a drain in town. They were using a tree branch, imagine."
King Kgosie said:
"They must be well prepared when coming to North West and mustn't come with an attitude."
SA annoyed by low lying bridge warning issue by City of Tshwane
Previously, Briefly News reported that the City of Tshwane shared a video on Twitter warning motorists and pedestrians of major flooding at End Street in Centurion.
The City shared a 16-second clip of a heavily flooded road and asked locals to avoid low-lying bridges. The clip resulted in some harsh responses from South Africans who want to know why the City has not done anything to prepare for the flooding.
Saffas seem to share the same sentiment as they are annoyed that they are being warned to watch out for themselves instead of Government putting in the work to avoid such issues.
Source: Briefly News
