By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is warning communities, particularly those residing in the South Coast of heavy rains that may result in flooding.
“The heavy rains are anticipated to persist from Tuesday through Wednesday morning. While the eThekwini Metro, along with the coastal areas, will experience widespread showers and thundershowers, the intensity will be moderate, with scattered rainfall.”
Earlier this afternoon, residents have shared pictures and videos of what they suspect to be a tornado ripping through areas north of Durban on Tuesday.
Durban – Mini #Tornado event in the Bhambayi area ( between Inanda and Phoenix) pic.twitter.com/6q2ppYAynj
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) June 27, 2023
KZN EMS spokesperson Robert McKenzie said that areas north of Durban in Inanda and Idube were affected.
He said paramedics have treated two patients in the area for minor injuries and taken them to hospital.
“They were in a container which overturned during the incident. There is quite extensive infrastructure damage to roofs on buildings as well as power cables in the area.”
Unverified footage of what appears to be a rotating funnel cloud kicking up debris was doing the rounds on social media.
The security company Rection Unit South Africa (RUSA) said a herdsman in Zwelisha, northwest of Durban, has been presumed dead after being swept away by heavy rains.
RUSA spokesperson Vinod Singh said the adult male was seen by witnesses herding cows during heavy rains.
Singh said the man attempted to cross a river but got swept away by the water, along with a cow.
The department said, the City had set up an emergency joint operations team to co-ordinate the response to the heavy winds and rains that pummelled some parts of the Pink area (Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu) and Folweni.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) meanwhile explained that a storm developed from the coastal part of Durban at around 13:00.
It said the storm had “cycled around”, in that it was “not moving forward or backwards” until about 14:00, adding: “It moved over to the land and produced a tornado. Yes, that is a tornado.”
The weather service said the heavy rain would result in flooding and urged residents to avoid low-lying areas.
“The danger with low-lying areas is that you can’t see how far [it] goes down, so it’s best to avoid crossing bridges and flooded areas.”
A yellow level two warning was issued for the south-eastern parts of the province and an orange level six for the Ugu district.