While Southern Africa is experiencing severe drought and the weather
bureau had predicted low rainfall over the current rainy season and
extending into the next, South Africa has been hit again by spate
of storms and tornado disasters that hit four provinces in only one
week. In addition to this, the Western Cape, as usual, has also been
hit by fire disasters that had left thousands of people homeless at
the time people should be celebrating the birth of Messiah.
In Mpumalanga on December 21, a heavy storm hit the villages
in and around Kwa Mhlanga leaving trails of destruction. The tornado
ripped through the villages, uprooted trees and blew off roofs from
schools and houses. 1700 families are affected In the North West,
a tornado, accompanied by a heavy down pour ripped through two villages:
Driefontein and Lekgopung. In Driefontein, 49 houses were reduced
to rubble and 150 partly destroyed. In Lekgopung, 30 houses are reported
to have been completely destroyed and 80 partially destroyed.
In Kwazulu Natal, the little town of Mkhuze along the N2 Free
way from Swaziland to Durban was hit by a tornado on the 23rd
of December. The initial information is that 500 families have been
affected. Rescue teams are still on the ground. In Northern Province,
three villages around Giyani (Xikulani, Mavhula and Bhunwani) were
hit by tornado that left several homes without roofs. The storm occurred
late in the afternoon on the 24th when many people were
preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ. The initial
information is that 60 families have been left homeless when their
homes were destroyed by the storm. 8 people have been reported injured,
one school and one Church building destroyed.
In Western Cape in the squatter camp of Wallacedene a fire
swooped through the camp and gutted 230 shacks which left 1 790 people
homeless. The fire occurred during the night when most of the people
were sleeping and very little property was salvaged as the fire was
so fast.
The ACT member, South African Council of Churches (SACC) is
already responding to the situation in these five affected areas with
their own resources. The ACT Coordinating Office has released U$15,000
from the Rapid Response Fund to contribute with the immediate assistance
of the most affected population. Plastic sheeting, tents, blankets
and food parcel will be provided.
