Pupils and teachers at Kwalu Secondary School in Tshamnangana Village outside Beit Bridge were left scurrying for cover, when the roofing sheets of the classrooms were blown off by strong winds that swept across the entire village.

Scores of homes were also destroyed by uncharacteristically heavy rains that pounded parts of the district on Monday afternoon. The downpour, which was preceded by strong winds and a hailstorm, also left a trail of destruction at the local clinic.

The principal of Kwalu Secondary School, Mr Phibeon Hlabathi, said the rains started at around 13:00, lasting for nearly two hours. He said the school’s end-of-year reports and learners’ exercise books were also submerged in water. “I was busy marking examination papers, when all of a sudden I heard the deafening sound of lthunder. First I did not suspect anything, until I spotted pupils running out of their classrooms in droves, following strong winds and a hailstorm. I then rushed out of my office and the next thing I saw, roofing sheets were flying through the air,” he said.

Hlabathi said all six classroom blocks had had their roofs blown off. The hailstorm also broke windows and destroyed furniture.

When Mirror visited the area, scattered fragments of roofing could be seen strewn all over the school yard.

Mr Langwani Mkandla, the principal of Tshamnangana Primary School, said they were having a meeting of the school development committee (SDC) when the incident occurred. The classroom in which they were conducting the meeting had part of its roof blown away.

A local church under construction had part of its wall damaged by the hailstorm. Most roads were also inaccessible while electric poles had been pulled down by the storm and, in the process, the power supply to the surrounding farms was disrupted. There was also debris in the form of twigs and leaves on narrow bridges, showing that water had flowed over them.

Shrubs and tree stems were also covered with the debris, indicating that they were also affected by the strong winds. A local villager, Ms Evelyn Malindi, said her neighbour, a teacher from neighbouring Mutangamutshena Primary School, lost five goats when the animals were struck by lightning. “Our ward councilor’s mother had one of her huts destroyed by the strong winds while some villagers were left homeless,” she said.

A nurse in charge of the local clinic, Ms Mpho Muthovhe, said: “Part of the ceiling at one of our wards collapsed and we had to shift the beds to another room.” The local councillor, Mr Godfrey Moyo, expressed shock and appealed for government assistance to rebuild the school. "This is really shocking and we are now appealing to NGOs, businesspeople and government to chip in with assistance and rebuild the school whose roof had been blown off completely and reduced to pieces,” she said.