Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane visited communities that have been hard-hit by recent storms in the King Sabata Dalindyebo and Mhlontlo Local Municipalities in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality, recently.

Premier Mabuyane has also conveyed his condolences to the families of six citizens who lost their lives following severe weather that wreaked havoc in the area, on the 9th of December 2021, leaving a further 19 people injured after houses collapsed on them.

A preliminary assessment of the damage caused has revealed that three areas in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality have sustained clustered severe damage to houses.

The affected villages are Qolweni in Sgubudwini, Ntilini in Lower Xongora and Ndungwane villages. Other villages have had scattered damage. In the King Sabata Dalindyebo LM, the storms left 77 families homeless, 15 partially homeless and four destitute. Livestock including sheep, goats and chickens were killed.

The Siyazama Ntilini Pre-School was damaged. Infrastructure like electricity power lines and electricity meter boxes were also damaged. Meanwhile, the Gqunu Bridge in Mhlontlo ward 17 was washed away.

The OR Tambo District Municipality, which is leading a multi-disciplinary coordinated effort to assist the affected households has appealed for donations of food and temporary shelter structures as an urgent intervention for those that

have been affected.

The Provincial Government is urging members of the public in distress to contact the Disaster Risk Management Centre on 047 501 6494 or a message via WhatsApp on 073 205 6465.