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Four people killed in devastating Limpopo hailstorm

Four people killed in devastating Limpopo hailstorm
Musina traffic offices damaged by the hailstorm. (Photo: Supplied)
Two children who drowned in an open pit toilet and two elderly residents killed by falling debris were buried at the weekend after a heavy storm in Limpopo.

Eighty-six-year-old Limpopo pensioner Eva Seloane of Ga-Maleka village in the Lepelle Nkumpi local municipality in Capricorn District died after bricks fell on her head while she was trying to run from her collapsing house.

Seloane is among four people who died during the devastating storm last Monday, which also affected Sekhukhune, Mopane and Vhembe districts. Only one Limpopo district, Waterberg, was not affected. 

Two children, ages currently unknown, drowned in a disused, flooded open pit toilet while they were playing at Tukakgomo village in Sekhukhune. 

Also in Sekhukhune, a 61-year-old man died after debris fell at him at ward 15 at Manyaka. 

The foul weather in the province was marked by a devastating hailstorm, that left blocked stormwater drains and some streets in Musina flowing with sewage. There were power outages in areas around Vhembe district. 

In the spring month of October, the SA Weather Service disaster risk management has put out urgent alerts for the public to be weather smart due to South Africa’s vulnerability to hazardous weather events, such as severe thunderstorms, floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Highveld storm season looms — be vigilant, SA Weather Service urges

Eva Seloane tragedy


Seloane died from her injuries at Lebowakgomo Hospital, with family spokesperson and daughter Sarona Mathiba saying that the ambulance arrived two hours after they called.

limpopo hailstorm The house that collapsed in the Limpopo hailstorm, killing 86-year-old Eva Seloane of Ga-Maleka village in Limpopo. (Photo: Supplied)



limpopo hailstorm 86-year-old Eva Seloane died after debris and bricks fell on her during a hailstorm at Ga-Maleka village  in Limpopo last Monday. (Photo: Supplied)



She said she witnessed the tragedy from her room window in the adjacent dwelling.

“Her body was full of mud and nurses refused to touch her and called us to undress her. She died while we were busy undressing her. She just froze,” said Mathiba.

Seloane was a former domestic worker. Her family said she was much loved and had also raised two orphans.

Mathiba said corrugated iron roof sheets were hanging precariously in the trees nearby, forming a hazard to residents.

limpopo hailstorm Corrugated iron roofing sheets suspended in a tree after a hailstorm near Lebowakgomo in Limpopo. (Photo: Supplied)



The regional health department had not responded to requests for a statement at the time of going to press.

Heavy impact


Limpopo Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs Department spokesperson Masedi Molebatsi confirmed one death in Capricorn district and three in Sekhukhune district. 

Providing scant information on the deaths, Sekhukhune district spokesperson Lemson Moropyane said: “Two kids … drowned in a toilet hole full of water at Tukakgomo village at ward two, one man lost his life after a brick fell at him at ward 15 at Manyaka village.

Further details of the deaths were not immediately available.

Moropyane said three local municipalities had been affected by the floods – Makhuduthamaga, Ephraim Mohale and Fetakgomo-Tubatse in Burgerfort. 

“A multisectoral team led by the district has distributed essential relief parcels including 30 sponges, 42 food parcels, 13 temporary shelter structures and 100 blankets to the affected families,” said Moropyane. 

limpopo hailstorm The damaged roof of Bonwaudi Primary School in Musina. (Photo: Supplied)



The storm resulted in families losing items such as furniture and groceries at Mashite village under the Ga-Mphahlele tribal area outside Lebowakgomo. Some families were provided with temporary accommodation.

Some areas in the Vhembe district spent two days without electricity after the hailstorm damaged Eskom infrastructure at Ha-Mutsha village. Resident Nyambeni Makuya said he had to throw away rotten food in his refrigerator after two days without electricity.

Power was restored only on Wednesday afternoon after the Monday blowout.

limpopo hailstorm Musina traffic offices damaged by the hailstorm. (Photo: Supplied)



Streets flowing with sewage

In Musina on Monday, 58-year-old Grace Muleya said the streets flowed with sewage and rainwater during the hailstorm that lasted for an hour. Muleya said she and other community members had for years been calling for the municipality to repair blocked stormwater drainage systems.

“Human waste is flowing into our homes because drainage systems in our streets of Musina are not working properly. Government does not care about us, they only want us during elections. They are failing to maintain stormwater drains, hence they get blocked during heavy hailstorms, “ said Muleya.

Spokesperson for Musina Local Municipality Wilson Dzebu said they were fixing blocked drainage systems. “Our community services, town planning, disaster management and the technical service department are assessing the damage to see how best we can assist. The issue of drainage systems is being addressed.” DM

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