WATCH: Clean-up begins after ‘tornado’ strikes Danville Avenue

HEAVY rainfall, followed by what residents are calling a ‘tornado’, caused significant damage to a number of trees along Danville Avenue on Tuesday night.

Disruptive rain and thundershowers, which were forecast for KZN and eThekwini, led to flooding in many parts of the municipality.

According to the South African Weather Service (SAWS), 72mm of rain was recorded in 24 hours in the Mount Edgecombe area alone.

Clayton Bray, whose home was the first to be struck by the tornado, explained how the ferocity of the winds brought residents out of their homes.

“It was just after 21:00, and we heard crashing noises all around us from the branches falling. I actually saw the wind swirling like a tornado does, and it swept upwards from Virginia Circle. A tree right next to our wall actually split in half, and part of it fell onto our electric fence. I’ve lived here for seven years, and I’ve never seen anything like this. The whole thing was over within minutes; the tornado dissipated the further up Danville Avenue it travelled.

“Thankfully, no injuries were reported. I must commend the residents who were out to lend their assistance in removing branches from the road as most of Danville Avenue was covered in branches. The municipality were out the next morning, clearing up, so that was great, too. There were reports that our gate had been ripped off its hinges, but actually, we’d had our gate opened, and someone mistook the damages, saying our gate was blown away, which it thankfully wasn’t,” he said.

Wiseman Dlamini, the senior forecaster at the SAWS, said they are gathering data sources to confirm whether what two parts of Durban experienced were tornados.

“We are still gathering data to be able to say scientifically what Inanda experienced was in fact a tornado. I’m not aware of what happened in Durban North. We are keeping a warning in place for rain in Durban and the KZN South Coast this evening. We will continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dlamini said.

Dlamini added that the Ugu District was the hardest hit by the heavy rains with Paddock, in particular, recording 294mm of rain in the past 24 hours.

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