The recent storm in KwaZulu-Natal had affected 1 256 people, the provincial department of local government said on Saturday afternoon.
Local government minister Nomusa Dube visited areas around Newcastle on Saturday after another storm hit the area on Friday afternoon. The initial storm caused damage worth more than R340-million in the area and claimed eight lives.
Speaking after inspecting hail damage, Dube appealed to businesses to assist those affected.
‘While we will engage national government to partner with us as a province to provide relief to the victims, we are appealing to business to also assist as much as possible,” she said.
Accompanied by provincial minister for Health, Dr Sbongiseni Dlomo, Dube also delivered relief goods to the victims of the hailstorm.
‘A team from the disaster management division of the department will continue to assess the extent of the devastation as the current figures are preliminary,” she said.
Affected areas included the Madadeni Township,
Mathukuza low-cost housing areas and the Madlangeni area.
The police station in Danhauser was also damaged.
Victims of the storm were being housed in tents and had been provided with blankets and food. – Sapa