By Sonica Naudé-Steyn

A strong storm swept through Kokstad on Sunday afternoon bringing with it strong winds, rain and a bit of hail.
The strong wind uprooted a number of trees in Elliot and Groom Street, causing blockages on the roads. The wind also damaged roofing of the housing development in Wylde Road, causing roof sheeting to collide with nearby homes in Spurwing Park.
The electricity was also affected with most of Kokstad experiencing an outage during the storm. This however was quickly resolved by the Greater Kokstad Electrical team. A streetlight pole also fell over in Murray Street, posing a hazard to motorists and pedestrians.
A number of homes were also damaged with roofing being ripped off as well as structural damage. According to the Greater Kokstad Municipality 14 households in New Market, Ward 5 and Ward 6 were affected while 5 households in Shayamoya and 1 household in Wansbeck (Ward 2) was also affected. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported however the GKM Disaster Management team assured communities that the situation would be assessed and assistance would be given as needed.
A strong storm also swept through the Underberg area on Saturday afternoon, uprooting trees along the R617 between Underberg and Bulwer. The debris caused traffic delays and obstruction of the road, however authorities and volunteers soon managed to remove the fallen trees and open the road once again.