Gale force winds take roof and trees

KNYSNA NEWS - Despite gale force winds in Knynsa last night, no major weather damage had been reported today.

The Knysna-Plett Herald is aware of two minor 'fender-benders in Main Road, which happened on the morning of May 4 between 07:00 and 08:00, but nobody was injured.

On a back road between Nekkies and Simola Estate a tree was blown over by a 70km p/h wind.

SANParks reported no incidents except for a tree falling on one house.

"Except for a tree that fell on a Garden Route National Parks (GRNP) staff house, there is reportedly no damage in the rest of the GRNP camps after the last couple of day's heavy rainfall and strong wind," said Nandi Mgwadlamba, spokesperson for SANParks.

The tree fell next to a house in Farleigh in the Knysna Forest. This part of the forest is demarcated as part of the Wilderness section of GRNP.

According to Carel van der Merwe, senior section ranger for Wilderness, there were gale force winds last night, which forced the team to clean up fallen trees and rubble this morning. "Tree branches fell next to staff houses. One roof was partially blown off and there is also flood damage in the main bedroom. The Park is working hard to fix this and already procured service providers to start working," he said.

The Knysna-Plett Herald is interested in hearing about what other people experienced in last night's wind storm.

We encourage readers to send rain and wind photos to christo@groupeditors.co.za

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