Families are counting the costs after heavy thunderstorms that hit the province wreaked havoc and left a trail of destruction in their wake.

The Netshifhefhe and Ramabulana families of Vhulatathavha at Khakhanwa village outside Thohoyandou were still licking their wounds at the time of going to press. Khosi Vho Charles Ramabulana, the local traditional leader, said it was raining heavily at about two in the morning last Thursday, when bright flashes were seen, followed by loud thunder.

"It was just natural to assume that lightning had struck somewhere not far away as I could see some light through the window," he said. Ramabulana said he summoned his courage and ventured into the rain in order to see where the light had emanated from. "I was so shocked that I nearly fainted when I saw my neighbor´s hut on fire, but I rushed there to help," he said.

Ramabulana said he found other residents helping to douse the flames, but it was already too late as the fire quickly devoured everything that was in the hut after the roof caved in.

"We went back home, not knowing that the worst disaster was awaiting us." Ramabulana had been asleep for only a few minutes when he was called outside again. "I was told that my mother´s cows were lying scattered all over the kraal," he said, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "We tried to wake them up, only to find that four of the fattest cows were dead, all struck by a lightning bolt," he said.

"We woke up my mother who was asleep at the time, but this nearly caused another tragedy when she collapsed on seeing her dead cows,"he said. Ramabulana said he believed that it was the work of people who were jealous of the family´s achievements and are bent on destroying them."We know them and we have already taken the necessary precautions," he said. He said the killing of the cows was a big blow to the family as they depend on them for their livelihood. "We lost nearly R25 000 of income from the incident and it will be hard to replace this," said the aggrieved chief.

The owner of the dead cows, Ms Matamela Ramabulana, described her anguish when she saw her cattle, scattered all over the area. "I have seen it with my own eyes; all my fattest cows were killed with their necks twisted and bleeding from the back," she said sadly. She said the incident will linger in her mind for a long time.

A source close to the family said it was second time unlucky for the family as one of their huts was also damaged last year. "We strongly believe that these incidents are linked and could be the work of one person," she said.

Ms Phophi Netshifhefhe, the mother of well-known international athlete Bethuel Netshifhefhe, was not spared as her hut was also struck by lightning. "We were sleeping in the early hours of the morning when we smelled smoke in the house," she said. She said the light outside made her confused as it was raining, with a lot of thunder and lightning at the time.

"I forced myself to go outside, only to be greeted by the burning roof of my kitchen," she said. She said community members gathered quickly and tried to extinguish the fire but were too late as the fire spread quickly and destroyed everything. "I am done, I lost everything in this hut; all my pots, mealie meal and other utensils," she said. She said damage amounting to thousands of rands was caused. "I have nothing left, as you can see. I am only surviving on the goodwill of the people and am still awaiting help promised by the Thulamela municipality´s disaster wing."