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It appears that there might be hope for the much anticipated rainfall as Nhlangano and surrounding areas experienced a heavy downpour in the afternoon yesterday which lasted approximately 20 minutes.

The downside of it is that the rain was accompanied by strong winds and huge hailstones, which caused damage to property and vegetation.

The huge hailstones caused damage on rooftops, leaving gaping holes resulting in rain water leaking into buildings. It also shattered windows on buildings and motor vehicles.

Nhlangano residents ran helter-skelter as they searched for cover while motorists searched for safe places to park.

In some of the streets in the small southern town, vegetation, especially tree branches, were broken as a result of the strong wind.

Showers started pouring at around 3pm resulting in some shops and houses being flooded with water as the heavy downpour continued.

There was a lot of clearing to do after the rain.

In one of the shops at Zam Zam Mall, Silomoes Corporation, which is an internet cafe, the storm left untold damage.

Siphiwe Dube, who works of the internet cafe, said the storm caught them by complete surprise. She said it was a normal day and customers were going about their normal business when all of a sudden, they heard the sound of heavy hailstones hitting the rooftop, startling everyone in the process.

Dube, in an interview last night, said while they tried to make sense of what was happening, the hailstones ripped the ceiling apart and rain began to pour in.

According to dube, people outside in the streets were seen rushing to safety to escape injury.

She said they tried to remove the computers and photocopying machines to where they thought the rainwater would not reach.

“We were caught by surprise and as I speak (at 8:30pm) there is still a lot of water in the shop. I don’t know if the computers and the other machines will function. We rushed to disconnect the cables when the water level rose inside the shop in fear of being electrocuted,” she said.