The North West Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) is set to formally request that the national government classify the province as a disaster area.
This follows a catastrophic weekend storm characterised by destructive winds, heavy rain and severe hail, which tore through the four districts of the province, leaving a trail of destruction.
Preliminary assessments reveal that more than 60 schools, clinics, strategic roads, and several public and private buildings have been severely damaged or destroyed.
Speaking about the extent of the crisis on YOU FM Newshour, the Head of the North West PDMC, Tebogo Gaolaolwe, confirmed that provincial teams are working urgently to assess the full extent of the structural and financial damage.
“We have already engaged with our national counterparts, the National Disaster Management Centre.
“They are very much aware of the situation in the North West, and on Wednesday we will be meeting through the National Disaster Management Advisory Forum, where the provincial structure will be given the opportunity to make a presentation to the national structure,” said Gaolaolwe.
According to Gaolaolwe, there is a compelling reason to request that the province be classified as a disaster area.
“Classifying the province as a disaster area is a critical step that will allow us to unlock national emergency funding and rapidly reprioritise resources to rebuild,” said Gaolaolwe.
Meanwhile, the education sector has suffered a massive blow, with roofs blown off and mobile classrooms wrecked amid the matric preliminary examinations and just as schools prepare for crucial year-end examinations.
This adds further strain to the Department, which was already reeling from the recent loss of three other schools to fires just last week.
The Department is considering platooning arrangements in cases where classrooms or mobile classrooms have been destroyed and cannot be used.
“Affected learners will be accommodated at nearby schools to ensure that they continue attending classes while the necessary interventions are being implemented.”
“Where schools remain operational but have limited classroom space as a result of the storm damage, the Department will implement platooning arrangements to ensure that learners continue with their academic programmes,” explained the Department’s Head of Communication, Dr Elias Malindi.
Malindi emphasised that under the platooning system, available classrooms will be shared by dividing learners into separate time shifts, with one group attending classes during the morning session, from 07:45 to 12:00, while another group uses the same classrooms during an afternoon session, from approximately 13:00 to 16:15.
There has been one confirmed fatality and two injuries reported following the destructive weather in Mareetsane, in the Ratlou Local Municipality, in Setlagole.
Emergency personnel remain on high alert across the province as assessments are still underway and weather patterns continue to be closely monitored.
