Human Settlements disaster relief teams from all spheres of government have arrived Amatole District Municipality, in Eastern Cape, to assess damage and give immediate help to communities affected by heavy storms.
The storms ripped through several municipalities on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction, including electricity infrastructure and properties.
The department said that after receiving notification on Tuesday, Human Settlements Minister, Thembi Simelane, immediately deployed three teams from the Emergency Housing Unit to assess the situation and determine the kind of help necessary in relation to the provision of much needed shelter during these difficult times.
“The teams will do a verification process in the three affected municipalities in the Amatole District, which include Great Kei, Raymond Mhlaba and Amahlathi Local Municipalities. However, people in need of immediate accommodation have been temporarily housed in mass care centres available in the area,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Minister has also tasked officials to work around the clock to relocate other victims to the Temporary Emergency Housing units, with the assistance of the local municipalities.
Based on the preliminary report from the deployed teams, the department said there is a need to relocate families whose mud houses collapsed during storms to Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) and provide building materials for the communities to rebuild their destroyed structures.
“The team will have a clear magnitude of the of disaster once the verification process has been completed,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
