'You don't prepare for things like this': Designer recalls how Randfontein storm turned birthday joy into heartbreak
Leroy Gobi was one of the hundreds of people in Randfontein on the West Rand who lost their belongings after fierce downpours, wind and hail ravaged the area on Wednesday.
The Greenfields Estate suffered damage when a level 2 thunderstorm struck Randfontein on 27 November 2024. Picture: Alpha Ramushwana/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - It's a heartbreaking day for 35-year-old Leroy Gobi, whose home was destroyed by a powerful storm.
Gobi was one of the hundreds of people in Randfontein, on the West Rand, who lost their belongings after fierce downpours, wind and hail ravaged the area on Wednesday.
READ: COGTA promises relief for storm-hit Randfontein families
The fashion designer lived on the top floor of an apartment building in a gated community, which was destroyed by the harsh weather.
Adjacent to the mall lies what used to be home to hundreds of people. This is Greenfields Estate which has also been damaged by the storms.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 28, 2024
Dozens of families were forced to relocate after their homes couldn’t stand the raging thunderstorms.@Jay_Mbatha pic.twitter.com/cPPlAW6Zyx
As EWN enters the Green Fields Estate in Randfontein, it’s clear that the day is far from ordinary for residents, whose homes have been left in ruins.
Tow truck drivers, seemingly pleased with meeting their monthly targets in just a day, are seen hauling away dozens of cars damaged in Wednesday’s storm.
Coming back from celebrating his birthday, 35-year-old Gobi was met with an unpleasant surprise - the roof of his home was nowhere to be found.
"You don't prepare for things like this. If it’s a matter of the builders not doing a proper job, that’s why things ended like this or mother nature."
He and others whose homes were destroyed are being relocated to empty apartments within the same gated community.
Meanwhile, shattered glass litters the floor, a harsh reminder of the cars destroyed in the storm.