PORT Elizabeth experienced the worst gale in its history on Thursday night. The SA Weather Bureau reported south-westerly wind speeds in Algoa Bay of 144km/h, roofs were torn off homes, trees uprooted and cars were lifted into the air and blown several metres. Bank and shop windows were punched out onto city centre pavements in showers of glass that severely injured at least five pedestrians. Gusts also blew out doors and knocked down walls, road signs and lamp posts, while several main roads were closed for several hours as a safety measure. In East London almost 300km further up the coast, suburbs suffered a power blackout. The last gale of great magnitude to strike Port Elizabeth reached a wind speed of 117km/h in 1967.