Cape Town - Gale-force winds tore through the Western Cape on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, uprooting trees, flipping over trucks and leaving key routes barred to commuters.
Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said it was difficult to tell if the wind, which had reached speeds of over 50km/h, would die down later on Wednesday.
“It all started last night and ever since then the wind has just kept getting stronger.”
Traffic services had to jump into action on Tuesday afternoon when the gusts first picked up. Four trucks travelling over the bridge just before the Huguenot Tunnel were whipped by the winds and eventually flipped on to their sides.
The tunnel was still closed on Wednesday morning.
Johan Bergh, who was doing maintenance on the roads and assessing the hazards posed by the wind, was on the bridge when the first truck fell.
“I felt a gust, and turned around and saw this truck. It was moving, but I could see it was falling over,” he said. “I started to run and then managed to fall over. It crashed down just next to me.”
While the truck drivers managed to escape unharmed, on Wednesday morning their vehicles were still lying where they fell, the gale force winds making it too dangerous for teams to retrieve the toppled vehicles, said Bergh.
“The wind is not as bad as it was yesterday, but it's still strong,” he said.
Bain's Kloof pass, situated on the R301 between Wellington and Ceres, was also closed on Tuesday night after the winds uprooted trees, sending them crashing into the road.
Chapman's Peak was closed to motorists after tons of weathered sandstone became dislodged in the windy conditions.
Cape Argus