ABERDEEN NEWS - A large trailer was blown over as winds of an estimated 160 km/h swept across the area south west of Aberdeen
The truck was travelling from Carletonville in Gauteng to make deliveries of bed base sets in George and other towns on the Garden Route.
The incident happened at about 1pm today (Thursday) on the N9 about 35km from Aberdeen in the Willowmore direction, on the road linking two farms belonging to Louis Lategan’s farms.
The driver was shaken but unhurt, and Lategan was able to help him to detach the trailer from the truck. The truck has been parked facing into the wind to reduce any chance of it also being damaged.
Johan Venter, manager of Viva Bedding, the owners of the vehicle, told the Advertiser that a recovery vehicle from Willowmore was on its way to try to right the trailer.
“I have lived here all my life, and never seen winds this strong,” said Lategan. “The roofs have been blown off five buildings on my farm, including workers’ houses, a garage and a goat shed.”
He said that a caravan has also been blown over, and several windpumps have been damaged.
For Lategan, the worse effects will be the wind erosion on the veld, as all the fertile topsoil is being blown away and leaving sand dunes. “It’s also very bad for the sheep in the lambing season, and I worry that many newborn lambs will be lost,” he said.
“I remember when I was a young boy, in 1982, we had very high winds and several bluegums were uprooted, but I have never seen anything like it since- let’s just hope the wind is bringing rain,” he added.
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