{"id":46712,"date":"2026-01-05T04:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T04:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=46712"},"modified":"2026-01-05T04:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T04:18:09","slug":"north-west-community-shock-devastating-lightning-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/01\/05\/north-west-community-shock-devastating-lightning-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"North West community in shock after devastating lightning strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>The devastating lightning strike claimed two lives and injured more than 150 others. <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Families in the North West province are still reeling in shock after a devastating lightning strike claimed two lives and injured more than 150 people.<\/p>\n<p>The lightning hit the Mphebatho Troop Festival, also known as Diturupa, in Dertig village, North West, on Saturday.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-troop-festival\">Troop festival<\/h2>\n<p>Thousands of people gathered at Dertig Sports Ground, next to Mphebatho Library, to celebrate the annual festival, which brings together the community, cultural groups, and leaders for a vibrant music event that promotes culture, unity and social cohesion.<\/p>\n<p>However, the lightning strike ripped through the gathering, sending people scurrying to seek shelter from the electrical storm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ:\u00a0Three killed after lightning strikes church tent in Limpopo<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-special-meeting\">Special meeting<\/h3>\n<p>Moretele Local Municipality spokesperson Mothupi Malebye said Mayor Councillor Masango George Manyike convened a special meeting on Sunday to assess the aftermath of the tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing the meeting, the mayor paid tribute to two bereaved families who lost their children as a result of the incident. \u00a0The first visit was at the Mashishi family in Lefatlheng, Ward 18, where they lost their daughter Kenoshi (35), a teacher at Tlhaloganyo Primary School.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe deceased leaves behind a 10-year-old son. The second visit was in Itsoseng Section, Dertig, Ward 18, to the Shekwambane family, who also lost their daughter, Koketso (28),\u201d Malebye said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-condolences\">Condolences<\/h3>\n<p>Malebye said the Mayor expressed his condolences and commitment to support the families during this difficult time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also committed to engage the Provincial department of Health to request more ambulances to ensure speedy availability in cases of emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi, is expected to visit the bereaved families on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting will start at Mathibestad Municipality Hall at 11am and proceed to the affected families.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lightning-strike\">Lightning strike<\/h3>\n<p>South Africa has one of the highest incidences of lightning-related injuries and deaths in the world, with\u00a0approximately\u00a0260 fatalities\u00a0reported annually\u00a0by the\u00a0South African Weather Service (SAWS).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To calculate the distance of a lightning strike, you can\u00a0use the\u00a0\u201cflash-to-bang\u201d\u00a0method. This calculation works because light travels almost instantaneously, while sound travels much slower at approximately\u00a0343 meters per second\u00a0(roughly 1 km every 3 seconds).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ:\u00a0WATCH: Tornado leaves a trail of destruction in Tshwane as rain persists<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#North #West #community #shock #devastating #lightning #strike<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The devastating lightning strike claimed two lives and injured more than 150 others. Families in the North West province are&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46714,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46712\/revisions\/46714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}