Over the weekend, high swells, strong winds and the spring tide caused havoc in coastal areas of the Western and Eastern Cape, and also kwaZulu-Natal. As clean-up operations began, municipalities and residents counted the cost of the damage.

At first light on 17 September, residents of Gordon's Bay stepped outside to view the damage caused by high swells on Saturday, trying to get into their garages to assess the damage to vehicles and storage spaces. At the destroyed Bikini Beach Villa a mattress lay on the floor, across which glass had been scattered as the sliding doors were shattered.

Many homes were damaged from the sheer force of the water as waves pounded relentlessly on Saturday.

One street was littered with debris - sand, kelp, wood, plastic bottles and rocks strewn everywhere. Tree branches had fallen across the road, imprisoning locals whose vehicles had been moved up the road to higher ground.

This is not the first time that this has happened but this is the worst.

One resident, Elenore Baiocchi, who also looks after another home a few doors down, was photographing it and inspecting the damage to the garage door. An outside light dangled sadly by a single wire. "It was F***ing frightening. It went on for hours and it just kept coming and coming," she said. "One of the houses' bottom bedrooms was taken out at 2pm and there were pillows floating down the road....