Clean-up operations underway after two tornadoes strike KZN in same day 

The tornado that ripped through the Tongaat area in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday night during a severe storm may have only lasted for about 45 minutes, but the damage it wrought was severe and extensive.

“The impact that it has left — the devastation — it’s phenomenal,” said Bilal Jeewa, of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, which deployed to the area on Monday night, to bolster relief efforts in the wake of the tornado, heavy rains and strong winds that lashed parts of the province. 

“There’s a lot of damage to homes, schools and infrastructure. There’s been no electricity in areas that have been hit so it’s a chain reaction of that.”

According to the South African Weather Service (SAWS), the province experienced at least two tornadoes, affecting Newcastle, Utrecht as well as Ballito and Tongaat, on Monday afternoon as part of a cut-off low system – a large weather system – that barrelled into the country on the weekend. 

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government said on Tuesday that preliminary reports indicated that at least 11 people died – seven of them from Tongaat in the north of the eThekwini Metro, due to heavy rain and strong winds. 

The other four fatalities were reported in Nquthu, Eshowe and KwaHlabisa. 

The provincial government said it was “on the ground” and providing humanitarian support and assisting families that had been displaced.

Jeewa said that while some people in the Tongaat area were moving into community halls, most preferred to stay in the wreckage of their damaged homes “due to the fear of their items being stolen”. More than 1 200 people had been displaced in Tongaat alone, he added. 

“We’ve activated a soup kitchen; last night we distributed mattresses and blankets for those sleeping in classrooms or community halls and then we facilitated products for the cooking of hot meals so they can provide them with three meals per day … You don’t get hail storms because it’s so warm here, but the hail that came down yesterday was the size of golf balls.”

Cut-off low

The cut-off low affected large parts of the country since the weekend and was responsible for the heavy rainfall and significant flooding over parts of the Eastern Cape. This system moved over the western and central interior of the country on Monday and “resulted in cold air that invaded the central and western interior”, the SAWS said.

“The eastern parts of the country, particularly KwaZulu-Natal, experienced warm and moist conditions.” Later on Monday, the atmosphere became unstable when these cold and warm air masses met, resulting in a line of thunderstorm development over the western parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

“Severe thunderstorms developed within this line, causing strong to damaging winds, small hail to large hail in places, heavy rainfall and at least two observed tornadoes. This line of storms continued to move east over the province in the afternoon while exiting and moving offshore during the evening.” 

The first tornado occurred between Newcastle and Utrecht over the western interior of KwaZulu-Natal early in the afternoon. Initial investigations indicate that it started as a rope tornado, which developed further into a cone tornado. “Rope and cone tornadoes get their names from their shapes. These tornadoes are generally narrower closer to the ground and wider at the base of the cloud.”

A larger tornado developed later in the afternoon around Tongaat and moved east to the coast near Westbrook and Ballito, where it caused significant damage. 

“This tornado was stronger and larger (wedge-like). Wedge tornadoes are usually larger and wider from the surface to the cloud base or, in other words, they are wider than they are tall. Wedge/wide tornadoes are often (but not always) categorised as strong tornadoes.”

Wreaking havoc

According to the provincial government, the heavy rains accompanied by strong winds “wreaked havoc” in different parts of the province, affecting five districts including the eThekwini Metro, Ilembe, King Cetshwayo, Umzinyathi, Amajuba and Umkhanyakude District Municipalities.

Over 55 people sustained minor to moderate injuries and are receiving medical treatment in hospital. At least 120 people have been displaced and three temporary shelters have been established where the affected families received humanitarian aid.

On Tuesday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube led a government delegation to various areas in eThekwini to receive a firsthand report on the extent of the damage and “ensure coordinated rapid response from government”.

“We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those that have tragically lost their lives and wish those recovering in hospital a speedy recovery,” said Dube-Ncube. “Our priority is to ensure that the displaced families receive immediate humanitarian relief and fast-track the restoration of services.” 

The disaster management teams are assessing and coordinating humanitarian efforts for the affected families. “NGOs including the Red Cross, Al-Imdaad Foundation, Gift of the Givers and IPSS Medical Rescue are working closely with the  government to ensure the provision of hot meals, mattresses, blankets, food parcels and humanitarian assistance.”

Tongaat hardest hit

The provincial government said that Tongaat has been classified as the most affected area with hundreds of houses severely destroyed. “Other areas such as Umgababa south of the eThekwini Metro, Eshowe, Utrecht, Osizweni and KwaHlabisa have also been severely affected. Public infrastructures such as schools, roads, community halls and health care facilities were affected.”

Heavy rain damaged transformers and power lines, leaving many areas in the eThekwini Metro without power. “Repairs have already commenced, and power has been restored in some areas while work continues to ensure that all areas are fully restored by the end of the week. Overhead electricity infrastructure has been severely affected; this includes infrastructure above-ground such as electricity poles, transformers, and overhead lines.”

The heavy rain, too, caused higher levels of turbidity in raw water abstracted from the Tongaat water works and the water works was shut down for a few hours. It is now “operating optimally and water supply is being gradually restored”.

Warming climate

According to the SAWS, South Africa does get tornadoes from “time to time”, particularly when large and intense weather systems affect the country.

“It is safe to say that, although a singular weather event cannot be directly correlated to climate change, climatologists agree that these types of weather systems may become more frequent and intense in the future due to a warming climate.”

The tornadoes’ strength, damage and effects will be further investigated and the findings will be released after the completed post-severe weather report.

Sihle Dlamini, a forecaster at the SAWS’ KwaZulu-Natal office, added that tornadoes are difficult to predict with certainty. “The tornado [in Tongaat] was disruptive and I wouldn’t blame anyone who would have been scared at that moment seeing it. I was scared as well. 

“Funny enough, I was at the office and I could literally see the storm moving like that … I could see something happening and the moment people started posting on social media, I thought, eish, let’s hope it’s not exactly what happened in Newcastle earlier.”