By Staff Writer
Heavy lightening and thunder last Thursday night rattled many of the families in several of the surrounding areas of urban Apia .
Emergency services by FESA and the Electric Power Corporation, EPC, were called in to attend to families at risk with power outages.
FESA attended to a Se’ese’e family who called 911 when their electricity meter exploded and went up in smoke.
The family feared for their safety when electrical sparks went flying in the dark as the home was plunged into total darkness.
The family was forced to spend the night with families nearby for their safety with instructions for the emergency workers to have an electrician check the electrical wiring in the house the next day.
Only a few meters away, part of another family’s cement wall crumbled when struck by a strong bolt of lightening in what appeared to be a direct hit.
The force of lightening hurled a thick, rounded wooden pole at the corner of the wall onto the family grass driveway.
No reports of injuries were reported from the volatile weather conditions, which cleared late into the morning.
The Electric Power Corporation is reportedly assessing any serious damages.
“We have to wait for any damage reports to assess the extent of any damages,” General Manager Tologata Tile Tuimaleali’ifano responded when asked for a quick comment.
The threatening events of the night ended with the rising of the ‘palolo’ mostly in Savai’i predicted.
Many who were familiar with the annual rising of the favourite seafood for Samoans at home and abroad were not surprised with the rough weather .
“It’s palolo weather, it’ll clear once the rising is done,” many reacted on Friday morning.
