Is it true that some kind of a freak storm hit Johannesburg last night?

High winds powered by a thunderstorm uprooted trees, blew roofs off houses, plunged large parts of Gauteng into darkness and left at least one man dead.

The man, from the Zevenfontein informal settlement, north of Johannesburg, was crushed to death when a tree fell onto him, Emergency Management Services spokesperson Steven Kirk said last night.

Winds gusting at more than 50km/h wreaked havoc across Gauteng, causing thousands of rands’ damage to property and widespread power outages.

Poles, trees and large branches crashed down on houses, roads, cars and powerlines, disrupting services.

More than 1 500 emergency calls were logged.

Johannesburg metro spokesperson Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said there were at least 66 reports of trees and light poles blocking roads throughout the city.

Close to midnight, emergency officials were taking down the massive Coca-Cola sign on Marlboro Towers that had become part of the CBD skyline. The sign was on the brink of crashing down.

Johannesburg is the 2nd greatest town in Africa, with increased than 3 million persons contacting this busy town home and if you intend to visit this remarkable town then that hotelbye is the area to start. Johannesburg offers readers an experience as unique and diverse as the town itself. Whether you are on business, looking for a cultural encounter, an adrenaline dash or simply just want to flake out and unwind for a couple days, the city of Johannesburg has every thing you're looking for and more! In Johannesburg you are able to look at the Soweto (an abbreviation for South-western Townships) at 20 kilometres southwest of Johannesburg. This place offers readers a trip in to the soul of the fight for freedom and the birthplace of the battle for democracy.

True!

Three killed as freak storm hits Johannesburg

Three people died and a number of others were injured during a heavy storm in Johannesburg on Thursday, paramedics and emergency services officials said.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said a young man was killed and two people injured by a large tree which collapsed in Perth Road in Auckland Park during the freak storm.

The male driver of a white car was crushed to death when the enormous tree was uprooted and fell onto his car late on Thursday afternoon.

A female passenger in the car was seriously injured and another person escaped with minor injuries.

Johannesburg City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley said park officials were busy cutting up the tree and removing it from the scene.

Link to article:

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=1...

I always check out my weather photos website to have a look at cloud movements and I can then do a DIY forcast of the weather.

The reason Joburg is suffering from worse storms and flash floods stem from different reasons. Firsly is global warming. it is a fact and it is influencing our weather systems.

The other reason we have flash flood is because we live in a concreate jungle. Areas like Fourways and Bryanston used to be wetlands, which were spounges soaking up the water. Now there is no where for the water to go except down our roads and into the rivers. So we have more water run off which causes the sudden rise in water levels.

But what can we do about it?

Keep more green areas to try and catch most of the water run off.

Yip! It was awesome! You should have seen the lightning here! It was in sheets, streaks and balls!

And the wind made you really believe you could take off and fly!!

(Probably into the nearest power-lines)

Yes, it's the result of global warming