Fridges might fly and beds fall from the sky as residents in Joburg's Hillbrow district see in the New Year by throwing broken furniture on to the streets below.
Police will send in helicopters, armoured vehicles and special units on Saturday night to patrol the unruly area, which has earned a reputation as a trouble spot at the turn of the year.
Every year a dozen-odd people among those who dare to venture outside on December 31 are hit by crashing objects thrown out of high-rise apartment blocks – everything from televisions to kitchen appliances.
“We throw the old stuff because we got new stuff,” said computer repairman Dickens Patwell, a 24-year-old Zimbabwean, who had himself once tipped a bed over his balcony.
People toss “many things, like electrical stuff,” added his friend, fellow Zimbabwean James Thomas.
“Microwaves, broken stoves, televisions ...” the 26-year-old welder told AFP in a bustling Hillbrow street, as minibus taxis hooted loudly for passengers and vendors sold vegetables on the sidewalk.
“We don't throw things during the year, we can't afford to buy new things then,” he said.
But two years ago an 11-month-old baby girl was seriously injured after being struck on the head by a brick – one of nine people hospitalised during New Year celebrations in the district that year.
The following year, locals opted to hurl stones at police patrol vehicles rather than furniture from windows. But emergency services still treated 14 people, including one man who had been hit over the head with a bottle.
South African Beauty Dube, who has lived in Hillbrow for 16 years, said she would be staying indoors with her family to keep safe.
But Thomas said the objects were not supposed to hurt people: it was just an easy way to get rid of possessions that did not work any more.
“We know nobody's gonna be out. We're creating jobs for other people,” he said, echoing a popular belief that debris creates employment for street sweepers.
“Those who get hurt are drinkers” who stay outside too long, Dube added.
Officials are hesitant to blame the violence on foreigners for fear of inciting South Africans against immigrants.
Police believe the main culprits are people who have forcibly taken over buildings, said provincial spokesman Tshisikhawe Ndou.
This year, he said, officials planned an aggressive approach to curb the violence.
“Various units will be deployed: dog units, the flying squad, the equestrian squad, public order police, and the technical response team,” he added.
Authorities have also set up base camps in the surrounding area where victims can get emergency medical care.
Meanwhile, Thomas doesn't want to say what he'll cast away at this year's party, but it seems he won't be able to exchange the goods.
“Some stuff, Papa, 'cause they don't have guarantee.” - Sapa-AFP