oThongathi tornado: EThekwini municipality unable to give timeframe for completion of rebuilding effort
The eThekwini municipality said that it could not commit to a timeframe of when rebuilding efforts would be completed in disaster-stricken oThongathi in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The community is still reeling from Monday’s horrific tornado, which left many residents destitute and 12 others dead.
Community members are still concerned about not having shelter, as temporary housing cannot accommodate all those affected.
While rebuilding efforts have started, the government said that there is no clarity on the completion date.
The latest update given by the eThekwini Metro Municipality said that about 2,000 homes were completely destroyed in the Emagwaveni community as a result of the tornado.
This has left around 8,000 people homeless, with some having lost everything during the incident.
EThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said that rebuilding efforts were underway with the help of others.
“The rebuilding of houses, we see the stakeholders from the private sector are bringing building material, government will also be doing such to those who have not received.”
When asked about when life would return to normal for the thousands of affected community members , Kaunda had this to say: “Looking at the magnitude of damage, you can see that we are moving, we will be marking one week on Monday, so we are hopeful that our teams will work tirelessly. I can’t give the exact time but we’re working tirelessly to ensure that we restore services.”
Community members told Eyewitness News that their fate now lies in what the government could assist them with, as many in the community lacked the means to recover from the disaster.
-EWN
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