The rural communities of Halahala and Matsakali outside Malamulele were left in a state of confusion after a massive tornado-like storm destroyed houses and uprooted trees, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

The incident that left many homeless and confused with no clothing, food and shelter happened on Monday afternoon. It is believed more than 50 homes were destroyed, some completely.

On entering the villages, the Mirror team was welcomed by signs of destruction, roofs blown away, and big trees uprooted by the massive storms. Fortunately for the locals, no loss of life has been reported.

Villagers were busy reconstructing shelter and some were busy trying to clear up the aftermath of the storms. Sadness was evident on their faces. “We do not know what to do. We are without hope as you can see. We have been waiting for assistance from the local Thulamela Municipality, but it is now taking ages,” said Leornard Mchavi, whose roof was completely destroyed.

‘‘I have lost everything and, to add insult to injury, I am not working, I do not know whom to turn to. I am fast losing hope of ever getting help from the municipality,” he said.

Mchavi said he would be grateful if the government could assist them in rebuilding their houses and give them temporary shelter and food.

The local traditional leader at Matsakali, headman Leornard Chabalala, said this was not the first incident in the area. He said the layout of the village might be the cause of the constant disasters. Thulamela’s head of Disaster Management, Mr Mkachani Chabalala, said after learning of the incident, a team was dispatched to assess the situation and the damage. “The situation is under control and we can now confirm that we are in the process of assisting them. The area is wet and temporary tents cannot be of help, but we have managed to evacuate all of the villagers from their damaged homes,” he said.

At the time of going to press, the affected families have not received any assistance from the municipality.

Mr Jan Vermeulen from the weather bureau has indicated that rains could still be expected in most parts of the Limpopo.