Community is still picking up the pieces

NEARLY a year after a devastating tornado struck Tongaat, residents share their ongoing struggles to rebuild their homes and lives.

- NADIA KHAN [e-mail]

On June 3 last year, the tornado left thousands of residents displaced, 12 people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed.

Last week, the POST visited some of the affected areas, where the clean-up and repair of roofs, windows, boundary walls and other infrastructure are ongoing.

Some of the homes were extensively damaged, with only the structures still remaining

Saloshna Govender, 43, of Naidoo Road, said she, her husband and their two children were renting while they tried to rebuild their house.

“It has been a long and incredibly difficult road. The unpredictable weather with the rain, and our work commitments have delayed our progress. Our house has been underpinned, and we are working with a structural engineer. While plans have been drawn up, everything is moving slowly.”

Govender said the estimated damage to her property was around R1.4 million.

“To make things worse, looters arrived soon after, stealing what little was left. In addition, the eThekwini Municipality sent a team to assess the damage shortly after the tornado, but nothing ever came from it. While we do have insurance, the process has been frustratingly slow. However, we are grateful to the people who offered emotional support and kindness in the tornado aftermath.”

Govender said surviving the tornado was both a miracle and a traumatic experience.

“In the immediate aftermath, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that my family and I were alive but that relief quickly gave way to shock and grief as we stepped outside and saw the devastation. Everything we had built, collected and cherished was gone in an instant. It felt like our lives had been stripped bare.