After Monday 9 October’s aggressive tornado passed through the area, local Sterkfontein resident, Alta Shepherd, who was at the Sterkfontein Nursery at the time of the event, contacted the news regarding her experience.
When this catastrophic tornado hit Krugersdorp and its surrounding areas, it quickly became clear that its intentions weren’t child’s play.
She said it was about 3:40pm when she drove out of the property, but had to turn around due to limited vision caused by the hail.
“I was driving someone home, but when I reached the end of the nursery’s block it started to hail so badly that I could hardly see anything. I then decided to turn around and head back to the nursery to wait it out,” Alta explained.
“We were still in the car when the tornado passed through, and if that wasn’t enough, a fallen tree had blocked the entrance to the nursery. Luckily we made it safely out of the car after a few moments.”
She added that even though nobody was hurt, it was a close call for one of the nursery’s employees who also tried to make her way out of the property when the tornado approached.
Devastated by all the damage around her, Alta mentioned that many of the 50-year-old trees in the area were flattened by the tornado and severe storm.
Alta and the Sterkfontein Nursery team remain thankful that nobody was injured.
by Alanicka Lotriet
October 11, 2017
