Lightning kills man
2009-01-11 07:57
Durban - Lightning struck dead a man in his home and left at least three of his family members seriously injured during another round of severe thunderstorms that struck KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, the province's Social Development MEC Meschack Radebe said on Saturday.
The man had been inside his home in Bhamshela on the North Coast on Friday night when lightning hit. His family were also struck and were presently being treated at hospital.
Dozens of homes had been damaged and some people had been left homeless.
Radebe said he would visit the area on Sunday to assess the damage and address the community.
The storm was predicted by the weather bureau earlier this week and Premier Sbu Ndebele had made an announcement about it.
The prediction came after 16 lives were claimed in another freak storm last weekend.
Among the victims were a family of four struck dead by lightning inside their Ndwedwe home.
Trees were uprooted, roofs caved in, walls and houses collapsed, cars washed away, and in some areas water mains had burst.
The province had been put on a state of alert with experts predicting more storms in the weeks ahead.
Ndebele had warned residents to store extra canned food so that when the storm hit they would not be left "high and dry".
Last weekend's disaster alone affected 12 736 people and cost an estimated R108 million in damages.
- SAPA