A ferocious storm killed eight people as it pummelled SA’s west coast on Wednesday, forcing the closure of Cape Town harbour, triggering flash floods and causing extensive damage, the authorities said. President Jacob Zuma was also a victim of the storm as he was grounded in Cape Town and failed to address the opening ceremony of the 69th World News Media Congress in Durban‚ the Presidency said. The weather system, which struck on Tuesday, damaged buildings, felled trees, left 46,000 homes without electricity and caused extensive travel chaos as flights and rail services were hit by gale-force winds and flooding. Three people were killed in the Eden District municipality, an area east of Cape Town, while four others died in a fire sparked by lightning, said James Brent-Styan, spokesman for the Western Cape regional government. One other person was killed when a building collapsed. The South African Weather Service warned that strong winds were expected over the Western Cape and west...
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