A violent and destructive storm with massive hailstones and high winds struck Welkom, Odendaalsrus, and Virginia on Tuesday 2 December leaving a trail of uprooted trees and destroyed homes in its wake.
Extensive tree damage
François Klaassen, the assistant fire chief of Matjhabeng, reported that he and his team received numerous reports of fallen trees across the Welkom area.
These destroyed roofs, palisades, blocked roads, and crushed walls. Some residents were even unable to access their properties following the storm.
Reportedly, more than 30 trees fell in Welkom during the storm, creating widespread disruption across the city.
Klaassen noted that massive hailstones reportedly fell in Virginia, whilst fallen trees were reported in Odendaalsrus.
Although the South African Weather Service (SAWS) had issued a Yellow Level 2 storm warning on Tuesday morning, Klaassen believes the storm proved more violent than anticipated.
Power outage crisis
Strong winds, rain, and hail lashed the city for approximately half an hour, resulting in a power failure across large portions of the city that lasted some six hours.
Residents reported between 16mm and 25mm of rainfall during the half-hour period.
The power outage occurred on the Eskom side of the Welkom Park substation when the storm caused two insulators to “flash” and trip the electricity supply to Bedelia, Naudeville, Jan Cillierspark, and St Helena.
This resulted in large portions of Welkom being blacked out.
Eskom technicians called to attend to this matter worked tirelessly to restore the supply and replace the affected insulators.
ALSO READ: Attempt at intercepting Matjhabeng protest falls through
In Welkom, roads flooded in Constantia, Human Motors circle, and Jan Hofmeyr opposite Hi-Q which impeded the flow of traffic.
In Stateway, between the Deo Doxa Church and the Bedelia shopping complex, the road was inaccessible due to a large fallen tree.
Power outages were also reported in Odendaalsrus.
Recurring storm trauma
The violent storm that caused hundreds of thousands of rands in damage in Welkom on Friday, 14 November, remains fresh in residents’ minds.
When dark clouds gathered again on Tuesday, many residents were gripped by memories of that devastating November storm.
The recurring severe weather events highlight the vulnerability of the region’s infrastructure that always seem to fall victim to extreme weather conditions with long periods of recovery in between.
You must be logged in to post a comment.