EAST LONDON - The South African Weather Service has issued a yellow level one warning for disruptive snowfall in parts of the Eastern Cape this weekend.
Since the beginning of the year, the province has experienced a series of devastating weather events.
For the homeless in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, the warning brings fears for their safety.
Siyabulela Ntsakayo has been living on the streets since the age of 14.
Now aged 40, the cold winter season is a sad reminder for him and many of his homeless friends who will be trying to brave cold nights living under makeshift shelters.
Ntsakayo said, "I believe in covering myself with plastic bags alone. I don't like to live around too many people. The winter can be dangerous for my health. We suffer when it rains."
Thembelethu Tutani says his situation is different. In May 2022, a municipal vehicle plowed into his family home. He says seven people who were at the house at the time were lucky to survive.
But he says he had hoped to spend the winter at his Breayln home which remains dilapidated.
Tutani said, "they promised to bring us a temporary home, and even the councillor didn't visit for some time until I met her five months later after the incident."
Braving the winter cold and sometimes torrential rains can be hard especially if one doesn't enjoy the comforts of living in a secure and warm home.