UPDATE: Lightning damage at Empangeni home

THE recent storm last week left a local minister in shock after his home was struck, not once but twice, by lightning.

‘Our home is quite high up; it’s one of the highest points in Empangeni.

‘My wife and I were in bed when the first strike hit.

‘It was a quick flash and there was a blue ball of fire that ran across the ceiling.

‘We could smell the sulphur,’ the pastor told Eyethu Bay Watch.

While the couple assessed the damage, another strike hit their home some 15 minutes later.

‘After the second strike I saw that the electric fence control box lights were dead.

‘The transformer box for our electric fence was completely blown out and we couldn’t find the cover for it anywhere.

‘The electric gate motor was also affected as well as our TV, which also had some damage but nothing major.

‘It was a hair-raising experience!’

According to Weather SA there were 5 542 lightning strikes in Empangeni and Richards Bay, 233 408 in KZN and 361 375 in SA that occurred during the recent storms that the country experienced.

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