At least five dead after heavy rains and tornado hit KZN

At least five people have died in KwaZulu-Natal as heavy rains, accompanied by strong wind and hail storms, continue in some parts of the country.

The fatalities were recorded on Monday in eThekwini, where roads have been flooded, with significant damage to infrastructure to electricity power lines and roads.

Watch the tornado in Tongaat, north of Durban

Five people have died in KZN after heavy rains & a tornado hit #Tongaat causing extensive damage to infrastructure, households with roofs blown off & trees falling on electricity lines. Gift of the Givers teams have been deployed to assist. #Tornado #Durban @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/eetp3mshvV

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) June 4, 2024

Tornado

There has also been extensive damage to infrastructure, households with roofs blown off, and trees falling on electricity lines after a tornado hit Tongaat, north of Durban, which has recorded the most incidents.

eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said other areas around Durban, including Umgababa, Durban Central, and the western parts of the city, also experienced heavy rainfall, leading to flooding of some households and roads.

“The strong winds also affected communities in the Amajuba District and Umzinyathi District, where houses were damaged by the strong winds in Newcastle, Dannhauser, Nquthu, and surrounding areas.

“The disaster teams are currently assessing the extent of the damages while providing immediate reliefs including accommodating displaced residents in government buildings,” Sisilana said.

Five people have died in KZN after heavy rains & a tornado hit #Tongaat causing extensive damage to infrastructure, households with roofs blown off & trees falling on electricity lines. Gift of the Givers teams have been deployed to assist. #Tornado #Durban @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/eetp3mshvV

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) June 4, 2024

ALSO READ: WATCH: Tornado hits Tongaat in KZN, causing extensive damage

Relief

Sisilana added the provincial government, through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, has coordinated the disaster team from affected municipalities to provide temporary shelter to those who may need it.

“Public facilities have been opened as safe havens for the affected communities as the assessment continues. Roads are being cleared using TLBs to ensure that rescue workers are able to attend to the injured.”

“KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube is expected to lead a government delegation on Tuesday to visit Tongaat for assessment and provision of disaster relief.

Just spoke to my sister in South Africa. She was in tears as a friend, age 39 years old was killed when a wall collapsed on her. This happened in the Tongaat area. My brother lost his house completely as a result of the tornado, rainfall and high winds.

— Vic Singh, ESQ. B.Juris, LLB, LLM (@VicSingh13) June 3, 2024

Gift of the Givers

Meanwhile, Gift of the Givers teams have been deployed in Tongaat where the Tornado struck and destroyed a number of homes and schools in the area.

Gift of the Givers said there are currently over 1,200 people displaced as disaster risk management teams commence assessments.

“Community members are being placed in shelters. Gift of the Givers  will be distributing urgent humanitarian aid at Fairbreeze Secondary School. Power and cellphone towers are down and many roads inaccessible,” the NGO said.

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