a day ago
Man recounts saving himself and mother with rooftop escape during severe floods in Mthatha
Loyiso Mkhayindana, 25, broke through his roof with a spade to save himself and his praying mother from rising floods.
Trapped with no keys and burglar-proofed windows, he pulled his mother to safety as water reached the ceiling.
He later slipped into the flood but survived by staying calm and was swept to safety.
Despite his small stature, Loyiso Mkhayindana had to summon all his strength to save himself and his mother from rising waters on Tuesday morning.
Mkhayindana, 25, had to break through the roof of their home to escape the deadly floods.
The only thing keeping him going was a fervent prayer from his mother, Nonelisa Mkhayindana, 49, in the other room.
They were both trapped inside as they could not find the keys to open the door of their home, and their windows were also burglarproofed.
Armed with only a garden spade he found in the bathroom, Mkhayindana forced open two openings in the roof for himself and his mother.
The unemployed young man, originally from Mbizana, said he moved to Mthatha for greener pastures and never imagined that one day he would be forced to learn how to swim in an instant to save his life.
He said:
It was around 5:00 on Tuesday that we heard people screaming outside and others were calling my name, but I did not take it seriously.
But he was forced to pay attention after hearing many female voices calling, 'We are dying, please help'.
'When I looked through the window, I saw water all over; the houses below us had submerged even though there were still lower water levels on us. It was like a dream,' said Mkhayindana.
He said he immediately realised that he and his mother were in trouble when they could not find their keys, which they suspect were washed away.
He shouted at neighbours to say there was water everywhere and soon it was up to their waists.
Throughout the ordeal, he could hear his mother praying in the other room.
He used his bare hands to break the ceiling board of their house, and by the time he had gone to fetch the spade, the water was up to his chest.
Showing his now-bandaged hands, Mkhayindana said he injured himself trying to get out.
He said:
I used my hands to break the ceiling board and tore into the corrugated sheet zinc while lying flat on the ceiling board of the house.
'I managed to escape through the rooftop. By this time, the water was above the windows, reaching the ceiling.
'My mother was in another room, I urged her to try climbing on the bed and then try to reach the ceiling.'
Stumbling on the roof, he tried to reach his mother.
'She was continuing praying and crying. I told her to reach for the ceiling board; I then heard her knocking, from the bottom into the roof. I knew she had reached the place I wanted her to be,' he said.
Mkhayindana said he used the spade to make an opening for her, almost hitting her on the head.
'But I managed to open the roof, made a small hole, grabbed her by her hands and pulled her through,' he said, adding that he could feel the water trying to pull her away.
They were able to get to safety by navigating their way from the roof to a high wall for safety.
'As we were walking on this wall, I told my mother to stop, I picked her up and threw her to my neighbours, who were on the roof of the toilet, which was much safer. I then threw her and luckily the neighbour picked her up.
'As I was throwing her, I slipped and fell into the water. I don't know how to swim; all I know is that you don't fight with the water. I relaxed my body and [was somehow] swept to safety,' he said.
He and his mother, as well as their neighbours, escaped unscathed but will have to rebuild their lives as they have lost all their belongings.
By Friday, at least 78 people had died as a result of the devastating floods.
