Page 1 - 08 November 2024

A powerful storm swept Witnesses reported seeing my nie, anders is ek weer
through the area on Monday sparks flying from the lines diep in the moeilikheid”
night, bringing destructive before they failed. Pity that even if he gets into
winds and intense gusts. The The Senqu “cherry-picker” trouble, he still cuts down
extreme weather caused was in Sterkspruit and would the beautiful old trees. This
significant disruptions to the first be used in the repair of time, however, he was On Monday evening, some appear, that the driver was On Tuesday morning we saw
power supply. In Sterkspruit, the line there before actually being of assistance time after 9 p.m. a Senqu driving at a high speed and a vehicle parked in the
Senqu Traffic Department
a fallen tree took down a returning to Barkly East. and carting away some of vehicle crashed into a tree in lost control of the vehicle. yard that had obviously been
powerline, while Barkly East We also found a tree in the the branches and broken Copeland Street. The tracks lead onto the involved in an accident.
residents were left in the dark old plantation that had been tree parts that would hamper The vehicle's tracks suggest pave-ment and suggest the
due to a widespread power blown over onto a powerline. the municipality’s work. a precarious path onto the vehicle came close to hitting We wonder if this was the
vehicle involved in the
outage. pavement, narrowly missing the home-owner’s fence,
While taking photographs By the time of going to press veered back towards the incident of the previous
According to a technician, a the man who is regularly on Tuesday the electricity a homeowner's fence. The road, hitting a tree in the evening.
powerline in Brownlee Street been caught chopping down supply had not yet been tracks indicate that the process. The close call serves as a
was compromised when trees was very quick to say: restored, although we heard vehicle drove around the stark reminder of the
branches from a nearby tree “Dit was nie ek nie mevrou. that the Municipality were corner at the Traffic Depart- According to reports the importance of road safety
caused a short circuit. Asseblief net nie ’n foto van busy with repairs. ment and turned into occupants were fortunately and responsible driving
Copeland Street. It would not injured. practices.

The tracks on the road of the vehicle that road onto the pavement and clipped the tree on
the far side.

The powerline in Brownlee Street that was There are tracks narrowly
compromised. The municipal workers need to cut missing the home-owner’s
back the branches from around the pole and lines to fence and then between
prevent this happening in future. the two trees. The one tree
was hit. Fortunately the
The above photograph was fence does not appear to
posted on the Barkly be damaged.
Information WhatsApp
group by Tiaan van der Below: The Senqu vehicle
Merwe at 10:25, of the parked in the traffic
Municipal workers at work department grounds that
on restoring the power. appears to have been
Thank you Tiaan.
involved in an accident

The top half of this tree
came down in the wind on
Monday night and is
resting on the powerlines.

The heavy tree portions are lying
across the powerlines. That is a lot of
weight on the lines.
The weather forecast is predicting
that the rain and cold will continue
for a few days.

We trust the wind will die down soon.
This Senqu vehicle is
parked with other municipal
vehicles in the grounds of the
Locals have taken to joking that in Traffic Department. It has
this Eastern Cape town, weather obviously been involved in
forecasting is a daily gamble. an accident and we wonder
Forget seasonal patterns – in if it is the vehicle that was
Barkly East, you predict the involved in the accident on
weather by the day! And, jokingly, Monday night. in Copeland
Tuesday has earned the reputation Street?
as 'Snow Day.'