Lightning strikes, ceiling caves in
Sunningdale couple say they lucky to be alive after lightning strike hits their home.
WHEN the South African Weather Service scheduled thunderstorms on Friday night, the last thing Chris and Sue Boyce from Sunningdale expected was their ceiling to collapse.
The couple were in their lounge when they heard a loud bang and saw an intense flash of light hit their living room. Several pictures were blown completely off the wall as well as the hooks that held them in place. The force of the lightning strike was so powerful that it also caused the ceiling’s rhino boards to completely cave in.
“It was around 9.45 pm. We could hear the storm but it seemed fairly innocuous. We were in the lounge about to go to bed when all of sudden there was this intense flash of light and a huge booming noise. It sounded like an explosion and everything went just pitch dark. I knew my husband was okay but I was worried about my African Grey Parrot, Doughnut who was scared witless. We eventually found him with a small cut over his eye,” Sue said.
“As the night drew on more of the rhino board came down. I couldn’t sleep, you could hear the ceiling creaking. The most important thing is we were both fine. We might need hard hats for the next storm,” she joked.
Incredibly a shelf of special ornaments including a vase handed down from Sue’s grandmother remained in place. The family said they wanted to warn other people about the dangers of lightning and asked residents to check with their insurance companies whether their policies covered storm damage.
