WILLEM PHUNGULA and NOMVELO MKHWANAZI
Durban - After having searched for his brother’s body since last Monday, Zandise Madziba found some solace when Mxolisi Madziba’s body was discovered this week, although it still took another day before it could be reached.
“What I am grateful for is the fact that my brother’s body has been found. It was a long, emotional and draining process, but we finally found him,” said Madziba.
Mxolisi, 43, was found on Wednesday under debris in Khokhoba informal settlement near Reservoir Hills by a search and rescue team.
Mxolisi had been among scores who went missing following the devastating floods that left a trail of destruction and at least 448 people dead in the province.
Also in the area on Tuesday last week, the body of Bongiwe Zondi was found, and an 8-year-old was still missing.
Madziba said that his brother’s body had been found in a shallow hole by a young boy who lived in the area.
“We started looking for him on Monday last week; we went to look everywhere, including the mortuary, but still we found nothing. At least now we have a way forward, as we can begin his burial arrangements.”
He said that after their initial fruitless search they had assumed that Mxolisi might be covered by the debris, and might be among the rubble around the informal settlement.
Madziba said he was relieved that his brother’s body had been recovered, although it was difficult for him to accept that he was gone. He said they had had plans for the future, and so much to achieve together as siblings.
Madziba thanked everyone who had been involved in the search.
Community members in the area are still traumatised. Resident Khosi Ndebele said that she was still struggling to sleep because the moment she closed her eyes she remembered everything that happened that day.
Recalling the devastation, she said that at about 1am gushing water washed away their neighbours’ houses, and while they screamed for help there was nothing she or the others could do.
“It felt like there was a thunderstorm, I heard a huge sound like thunder. That moment my neighbours were screaming and crying for help, but I could not help because I was still traumatised.”
Currently, the affected community members are being sheltered at Pemary Ridge Primary School.
In Molweni township near Hillcrest, 22 people perished and 11 were still unaccounted for in ward 9, according to councillor Nonsikelelo Msomi.
She said 20 families had to be sheltered in the Dinabakubo community hall after their homes were washed away.
Sharing the painful experience of how she lost her 30-year-old sister, Sizakele Maphumulo, and her 7-year-old child Swelihle, Thando Maphumulo said they were all sleeping when they realised there was water inside the house.
She said that she went to knock on the door of the rondavel where her sister and her child were sleeping, but there was no response.
Maphumulo said that while shouting for them to wake up, two taxis that had been washed away from a neighbour’s parking lot came flying down with a mudslide and knocked down the rondavel, killing both her sister and her child.
The Mnikathi family lost four members when a big portion of a six-roomed house fell on 30-year-old Nkosinathi Mnikathi and his 17-month-old son Samkelo, as well as on sister-in-law Bongi Zincume and her 3-month-old boy Banele.
In the same area, the Mdima family were still waiting to find their daughter Neli, who had been asleep in her room with her 3-year-old boy when it was washed away. The little boy was found dead the following day.
Zakithi Mchunu, who was fortunate enough to escape unharmed with 15 family members, said she was grateful to God that none of her family died in this disaster. She said she could not explain how she survived with all her children and grandchildren after their house was surrounded by mudslides.
Mchunu said life was difficult in the hall that they shared with 19 other families because they did not know each other. In total there were 80 people living together in the hall.
“You know it is difficult when people from different backgrounds live together by coincidence like this. We have different lifestyles. We have been promised to be moved to transit camps, and it would be better because I will be living with my kids,” said Mchunu.
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs head Tando Tubane handed over social relief materials at the hall on Wednesday.
Speaking to the SABC on Wednesday morning, Human Settlement and Public Works MEC Jomo Sibiya said 4 500 temporary shelters would be built to house displaced people while the government was rebuilding their homes.
Meanwhile, the Social Development Department through the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has started dispersing Social Relief of Distress grants of R1 200 per affected family, and R3 900 per family who lost loved ones. Explaining how the grant was being accessed, Sassa provincial spokesperson Sandy Godlwana said all the affected families’ information was taken by social workers who were part of disaster management teams.
Daily News