{"id":50544,"date":"2023-12-14T10:50:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T08:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/festivities-ceased-by-thunderstorm-20231214-3\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T09:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T07:26:15","slug":"festivities-ceased-by-thunderstorm-20231214-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/festivities-ceased-by-thunderstorm-20231214-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Festivities ceased by thunderstorm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>More than 30 houses in Makeleketla, Winburg, were damaged by the heavy rain and strong winds of Thursday, 7 December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, a local tuckshop\u2019s wall is down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Residents are frustrated that during the festive season they will be fixing their houses instead of celebrating the holidays with their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African Weather Services issued a warning about the yellow level 2 heavy thunderstorms with the possibility of damaging winds, hail and heavy rainfall resulting in damage to infrastructure, settlements (informal), property, vehicles, livelihood and livestock in the Western Free State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe wind and rain were so heavy and scary, it was not long until we heard the roof just blow away and rain pouring into our house,\u201d said Emily Davis, one of the residents in the affected area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 30 houses in Makeleketla, Winburg, were damaged by the heavy rain and strong winds of Thursday, 7 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In Makeleketla, the R8 million sports grounds remain incomplete and unused, the self-established soccer fields are drenched in sewage, and the golf course\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Winburg pool has become a haven for drug dealers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SMITHFIELD2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":294593,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/devastating-storm-causes-hundreds-of-thousands-of-rands-in-damage-across-goldfields\/","url_meta":{"origin":50544,"position":4},"title":"Devastating Storm Causes Hundreds of Thousands of Rands in Damage Across Goldfields","author":"Marti Will","date":"20 November 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A devastating storm hit the Goldfields area on November 14, causing extensive damage and flooding. 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