Trees fall as storm lashes Durban
Two cars were crushed under a tree in Morningside on Friday night, with the motorist and passengers getting out unharmed.
TREES and branches caused significant damage in Glenwood and Morningside following a severe storm which hit Durban on Friday evening.
Morningside resident, Nicky Burke, said gale force winds had brought a tree crashing down near Florida Road which landed on two vehicles.
“One of the cars had four occupants inside who miraculously got out unscathed. My husband was right there when it happened and helped the guys get out,” said Burke.
Ward councillor, Martin Meyer said apart from some reports of tree branches, he had not received any reports on serious damage caused by the storm.
According to councillor Nicole Graham. a number of trees and branches came down in the Umbilo and Glenwood area.
“I also believe that some of the extended power outages that occurred from Saturday were related to storm damage,” she said.
Bulwer Community Safety Forum patrollers worked hard clearing masses of heavy tree trunks which had come down and posed a danger in roads across Glenwood.
“The trees that we found in Lena Ahrens Road were quite big and it was quite dangerous as cars had to swerve to avoid them. There were a number of areas where we saw branches down. Bulwer Park had a few down as well. We found a thick branch dangling dangerously by a thread and hanging over into the road at the intersection of Ferguson and Esther Roberts Roads,” said Heather Rorick, chairperson of the forum.
She said the group managed to get the branch down as well as clear the trees out the road so they could be removed by the Parks Department who arrived about 20 minutes after they were notified.
“The Parks Department were very quick to respond and we thank them for that,” said Heather.
Ward 31 councillor Jethro Lefevre said there wasn’t much damage in his ward, excepting a downed power line in Peter Mokaba (Ridge) Road.
