#ThrowbackThursday: Tornado flattens Mtubatuba township

In light of storms, whirlwinds, fatal lightning strikes and flooding to have hit the region in recent weeks, KZN’s weather phenomena has been making headlines of late.

But peeking at the past on this #ThrowbackThursday we take a look at what residents of KwaMsane township outside Mtubatuba suffered some 20 years ago.

More than 1 000 people were left homeless when a tornado ripped through KwaMsane, razing hundreds of buildings to the ground.

A young boy, Lwazi Mbense, was tragically killed during the tornado, when he was struck on the head by a large sheet of corrugated iron, which had been ripped off the roof of a neighbouring home.

A task team comprising various government entities and representatives was formed to assist the affected residents in the wake of the disaster.

One official who did not want to be named was at the time quoted as saying the improperly built structures were ‘disasters waiting to happen’.

Prince Gideon Zulu, together with the mayor at the time and the then housing minister, MEC Wilson Ngcobo visited the family of the deceased boy.

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