First published on GroundUp

Video: ‘Monster Storm’ batters Cape Town, by Chronicle Digital.

Olga Kotswana and her husband Sam Dube stand where their shack used to be in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay’s informal settlement. “I was sleeping when it fell,” said Kotswana. Their home was destroyed at about 10:30pm last night during the storm. “We’ve got nothing. No blanket. No food. Nothing.” Their shack was one of the temporary ones provided by the City of Cape Town after fires ravaged the township in March. (Natalie Pertsovsky)

Neliswa Mbanga  stands in front of her home, number 36, which was damaged after the high winds of the storm tipped the house to the side. Mbanga is also living in one of the temporary shacks provided by the City following the  March fires.  (Lilly Wimberly)

Residents climb through the rubble made by a tree downed by the wind. (Lilly Wimberly)

Abraham Shatimwene, Samuel Hiavali, and Paulis Shatimwene in front of their home, which was badly damaged by Tuesday night’s storm. They are in the process of replacing their roof and one side of their shack in preparation for more winds throughout the week. (Lilly Wimberly)

Lovers Magwala, a resident, explained that winds had tipped the community’s toilets. He said that residents were now using the hill as a bathroom. (Lilly Wimberly)

Residents living in shacks provided by the City prepare for more high winds as the storm continues by placing tires, branches and bricks on the roofs of their homes. (Lilly Wimberly)

Portia Mawilk, who supports her mother, child, and two sisters had her newly built shack blown away last night and the zinc materials stolen. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.” Her previous home was destroyed in the March fire. She is currently staying with a neighbour.  (Lilly Wimberly)

A little girl carries her sibling around the township of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, where at least 300 people were displaced by the storm. This comes just three months after a major fire rendered thousands homeless. (Shaun Swingler)

Residents of a temporary relocation site at Imizamo Yethu sports complex place sandbags on the roofs of tin shacks to guard against extremely high winds. They lost their homes in the shack fires that ravaged the township earlier this year. (Shaun Swingler)

Grazia Mostert and her neighbours assess the damage done to her house after the roof of her flat at Aspeling Court in Lavender Hill was ripped off by high winds. (Shaun Swingler)

A young woman and her dog look out over the foamy swells at Llandudno Beach near Hout Bay. Swells along the Atlantic Sea Board reached several meters in height. (Shaun Swingler)

A tree uprooted by Wednesday’s storm over Cape Town damages a home in Rondebosch. Many trees were uprooted throughout the city in the high winds. DM

Photo: Olga Kotswana and Sam Dube. (Natalie Pertsovsky)