Pretoria - Residents in the City of Tshwane were not spared from the unprecedented heavy storm that wreaked havoc in various parts of the municipality on Tuesday night, uprooting trees and causing power supply interruptions in its wake.
The Tshwane Emergency Services call centre was flooded with calls from desperate residents looking for assistance after their homes were destroyed by fire caused by the thunderstorm.
Emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso, however, said no injuries or deaths were reported to the call centre for all incidents that firefighters and disaster management teams responded to.
“The emergency services take note of multiple incidents that were noted on social media due to the storm that wreak havoc in various parts of Tshwane uprooting trees in areas like Valhalla and Centurion even though there is no incident reported in those areas,” he said.
Tshwane MMC for Utilities Themba Fosi provides an update on the Pyramid/Rooiwal substation fire. @CityTshwane #Pretoria pic.twitter.com/GFWi5BUqU2
A shack caught fire in Soshanguve Block X and it was reported at 21:30, but there were no injuries and the fire was subsequently extinguished by emergency services team dispatched at the scene.
Firefighters were also dispatched to the Dorandia dumping site, which was reported to be on fire at around 22:00.
Mabaso said fire was put out and the team remained at the incident until the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Multiple shacks were reported to be on fire at Kameeldrift informal settlement and disaster management attended to the scene to assess the damage and the number of shacks that were burnt. According to Mabaso, the fire was put out and also no injury was reported.
In Soshanguve Block HH a house roof was blown off by the raging winds. In response to the incident, the city’s disaster management was activated and no alternative accommodation was required because the family managed to house itself in a room that was not affected.
Mabaso said: “Three shacks also blew away in Block AA Soshanguve (and) disaster management was also dispatched and people managed to find alternative accommodation with the neighbours.”
The Summit restaurant in Garsfontein was reported to be on fire in the early hours of Wednesday and emergency service personnel attended to the incident.
Mabaso said: “Only the second floor where the sound is being played caught fire and sustained damage. The part of the restaurant on the ground floor and the kitchen as well as the rooftop didn’t suffer any damages. The cause of fire is unknown at the moment.”
In another incident, the Pyramid substation also caught fire due to a heavy storm.
Municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the City experienced unprecedented storms in the northern parts, causing massive destruction to households in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas.
He said the temporary Pyramid substation, which was built next to the Rooiwal Power Station, caught fire as a result of lightning, burning the transformer, including the container.
Bokaba said: “The fire then spread into the high-tension yard. Emergency Services was quick to respond and managed to extinguish the fire. Power has been restored at the Rooiwal Power Station, but the rest of the customers, including Rooiwal Waste Treatment Plant and the farming communities supplied from the substation are still out. Temporary investigation indicates that the cause of the fire emanated from lighting.”
Technicians were still investigating and assessing the full scale of the damage.
Power supply was interrupted in Soshanguve and residents in Block VV, WW and UU woke up on Wednesday morning without electricity.
Pretoria News