Heavy storm leaves one dead, scores injured around Joburg
Cradlestone Mall badly damaged
A heavy storm swept through Johannesburg yesterday afternoon‚ leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
At least one person died and several others were injured in what was described by eyewitnesses as a “tornado” that ripped off the roofs of a primary school‚ a shopping mall and many houses on Johannesburg’s West Rand.
At the same time‚ the Yaldwyn power station in Jet Park near OR Tambo International Airport in Boksburg was on fire‚ causing massive power outages on the East Rand.
Twitter posts showed pictures of thick plumes of dark smoke coming from the power station in pouring rain. It was not immediately clear what had sparked the blaze but it plunged parts of Ekurhuleni – stretching from Kempton Park‚ through to Atlasville‚ Plantation and Witfield – into darkness. Another 150 homes were said to have been damaged in Putfontein and Etwatwa near Daveyton.
According to Netcare 911‚ one person was killed during the storm in Krugersdorp‚ while ER24 reported two injuries also in Krugersdorp. Last night‚ paramedics were still attending to accident scenes and injuries caused by the storm.
Pictures circulated by emergency workers showed the damaged roof of the Cradlestone Mall on the West Rand.
Daniel Zambezi‚ who lives near the mall‚ said when the storm swept through the area, he thought the world was coming to an end. His house’s roof and outer perimeter wall had partially collapsed.
Social media celebrity Lerato Legobane, who stays near the mall, went on Twitter to display pictures showing how the storm damaged her home’s roof.
ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said two people suffered minor to moderate injuries when the shopping mall’s roof collapsed.
Meiring also confirmed that nine people were injured in the Delmas and Bapsfontein area, east of Johannesburg.
Other photos showed destroyed shacks scattered in an open veld. Several houses were completely destroyed as their walls had collapsed.
In Krugersdorp‚ the roof of Protearif Primary School was blown off. EMS spokeswoman‚ Nana Radebe, said no injuries were reported.
She said they also responded to a number of fallen trees in Sandton and Malboro.
Pictures from a complex in Honeydew showed a block of flats and some houses with roofs blown off‚ collapsed carports and an overturned car.
Several vehicles were submerged in flood waters.
South Africa Weather Service forecaster Madimetja Thema said reports of tornadoes were unconfirmed.
“Only once we have assessed all the information at hand will we be able to confirm that this was a tornado. For now we refer to it as a storm.”