Being a Tembisan (Hospital View) resident myself, I received during that fateful day numerous messages on my phone from Ekurhuleni Metro warning of severe weather conditions that might occur throughout the day.
Watch as tornado sweeps through Tembisa.
But I just thought “Argh, they probably mean the cold because it was already cold anyway,” so I couldn’t be bothered to find out more – my solution was just to keep warm!
I got home just before 4pm on the said day and soon after arriving, rain started pouring down, worsening the cold weather.
Just then I heard what sounded like stones pelting down on the roof of my home.
I went out to investigate and realised it was hail – it continued for about 10 minutes and stopped.
We all (me and my neighbours) went out to check if there was any damage.
As we were still outside adoring the beautiful white melting stones, it suddenly got darker and darker.
That was when we noticed the impending doom: a swirling dark cloud appearing from the north which threatened to engulf us.
A mere kilometre or so from where I stood, I witnessed the tornado form and touch down, causing widespread havoc at the Phumlani Mall.
I watched in horror as it appeared to be consuming everything in its path.
Metro activates Joint Operational Centre in wake of tornado damage
It made all kinds of noises, almost like rattling sounds. It was dark, powerful and travelled at a high speed and grew thicker.
We soon learnt that it was a whirlwind on steroids. “It’s a tornado,” we all said.
After all, this is something that happens in regions in America, not Tembisa.
The screaming wind kept heading in our direction.
I live some 400m to 500m away from Tembisa Hospital and witnessed as this fierce monster struck the medical facility as objects flew high into the sky. All the while my senses were assaulted by this beast.
As we were watching, extraordinarily huge hail stones thundered from the heavens, forcing us back inside as we sought shelter in the hope that we not be swallowed alive.
In seven minutes everything was over. An eerie stillness returned only to be interrupted by the blaring sirens of the emergency services.
The rest is history.
The freak tornado had wreaked havoc in Tembisa with over 150 houses left in ruin in a matter of minutes.
The Phumlani Mall roof had been destroyed, while the outside buildings at the Tembisa Hospital and ambulances all suffered damage and the nearby petrol garage was torn apart.
Indeed, what a freaky and strange day, reminding us that anything is possible in this rainbow nation, or is that soon to be a nation of tornadoes?
