Environmental experts and specialists, including from Walter Sisulu University, have been dispatched to Port St Johns following an invasion of millipedes.
Authorities have described the situation as unprecedented, as the millipedes were white in colour.
Concerned OR Tambo district municipal bosses, meanwhile, have urged residents to remain calm and not use harmful chemicals to try to repel the crawling creatures from their households.
OR Tambo municipal spokesperson Ncebakazi Kolwane said on Thursday the matter was receiving urgent attention.
Daily Dispatch