Tafelsig families count the cost after storm damages about 50 structures - IOL

About 50 structures were affected after high-velocity winds, hail and lightning damaged homes in Tafelsig on Tuesday.

Residents said roofs were ripped off in a sudden storm, while the City of Cape Town said it could not confirm that a tornado struck.

Nazley Smith, 47, said she had woken after 2am to rain, but was jolted awake again about two hours later by an enormous bang.

“My daughter called me. She was lying in the lounge and while I was going to her, the water came gushing through my father’s room. The roof on the carport ripped off,” Smith said.

“It was like a mini tornado, similar to the Manenberg incident. It is something we have never, ever experienced before.”

She said there had been thunder, lightning and hail before the violent weather disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.

“The storm came and went in a blink. A minute, literally. The lightning was striking for about five seconds continuously. It was like daylight outside for those five seconds.”

Smith said the house sustained structural damage, including extensive damage to the roof. The family lives close to the Wolfgat Nature Reserve, and she said the damage had now also created a security concern.

Three adults and a minor child are affected.

She said her 75-year-old father’s room was among those damaged and the family urgently needed roofing sheets or other material to temporarily secure the house, as well as a gate and a bed for him.

Smith said instinct had taken over during the chaos.

“At that time I told myself I can’t allow myself to fear or feel anything. I just needed to act fast and think fast.

Another resident, Shahiem Sampson, said his family’s roof was also ripped off while an outside structure collapsed.

“My sister and her family were in the house. I’m just so happy that no one got hurt. It’s just traumatising,” he said.

Sampson described an almost eerie lack of warning before the destruction.

“We got storm rain, hail. We don’t know what took the roof off because there was no wind. It was quiet and then all of a sudden we heard a loud bang. The carport was gone.”

He said the force then damaged the roof at the front and back of the house and cracked a window.

“Everything goes through your mind. You’re in shock, you panic. You can’t go outside because the lightning is striking and it’s raining inside the house.”

Despite the destruction, Sampson said the absence of serious injuries was what mattered most.

“You can rebuild, but life is precious and I am just thankful no one got hurt.”

City Fire and Rescue Services said crews responded to reports of property damage in and around Maanskynkop Street at about 4.35am. Early assessments indicated that about 50 structures had been affected, with roofs blown off a number of homes. No injuries were reported, although one woman was treated for shock.

Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said City services remained on scene while assessments continued.

“Some homes have had roofs blown off, while others have sustained more minor damages,” she said.

There had been no need for evacuations, while Disaster Risk Management was working with other City departments to determine what assistance could be provided. The Mustadafin Foundation was also on site providing humanitarian relief.

Powell stressed that the Disaster Risk Management Centre could not confirm whether the weather event was a tornado.