NATIONAL NEWS - Two people have been reported killed and as many as 20 or more were left injured after a tornado hit the Mpolweni settlement near Wartburg in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday afternoon.
ER24 spokesperson Ross Campbell said in a statement that paramedics arrived on the scene at 17:20 after having received a call from Disaster Management and Search and Rescue.
“Two adults were unfortunately declared dead on the scene. ER24 set up a triage area and treated and transported another nine patients for minor to moderate injuries to various hospitals in the area.
“Provincial also transported a further two bringing the total injured on scene to 20.
“An adult woman who had suffered serious injuries as a result of losing control of her vehicle during the storm was treated with advanced life support interventions before being taken to Mediclinic Pietermaritzburg for further care.”
Power lines were destroyed and numerous animals were also injured or killed.
“The Fire Department and SAPS were also on scene. The rescue effort was called off at 23:53 last night and resumed again this morning.”
Video footage of the tornado went viral on social media yesterday.
“At this stage, we can confirm that there was a severe thunderstorm over New Hanover, which developed and formed a tornado. The winds that were driving the storm was quite strong, ranging between 25 and 37 km/h and eventually, a tornado was formed,” said forecaster Wiseman Dlamini.
The South African Weather Service issued a watch for severe thunderstorms over eThekwini, uMshwathi, Umvoti, and Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal moving towards iLembe, King Cetshwayo and uLundi, with possible hail and heavy rain.
KwaZulu-Natal residents have taken to social media to share videos and pictures of what appeared to be a tornado.
