A tornado tore through Inanda, KZN, on Tuesday. [Picture: @TrafficSA/Twitter]
The South African Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado ripped through Inanda, Durban, and surrounding areas on Tuesday afternoon. At least one person was killed and two were treated for injuries. Several residents reported damages to their homes.
The tornado is believed to have developed at around 13:00 (GMT+2) on Tuesday. It later moved over the land and produced a tornado, News24 reported.
Footage of the tornado has since taken social media users by storm. In one of the videos, a resident can be heard screaming for help as the “cyclone” blows away roofs.
“Help us, it’s coming back. Oh my God. It’s coming back. Please help us,” a woman says while filming the incident.
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Localised flooding
The city was drenched by rainfall on Tuesday afternoon through the night to Wednesday morning. This led to flooding in some areas like Zwelisha, northwest of Durban.
According to EWN, a herdsman was presumed dead after being swept away by floods. RUSA spokesperson Vinod Singh said the man attempted to cross a river while herding animals but was swept away by the water, along with a cow.
Meanwhile, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality warned of further rainfall over the interior of the city on Wednesday. It cautioned against potentially difficult driving conditions and localised flooding in formal and informal settlements.
“Higher intensities are predicted over the central and northern coastal areas and western interior from 10 am on Tuesday, June 27 until 2 am on Wednesday, June 28,” it said.
The city was battered by two bouts of flooding in April and May 2022. More than 400 people died and 40 000 were displaced in what were deemed the most catastrophic floods to hit KwaZulu-Natal.
