It’s going to be a long road to recovery for the residents of Sandfields in Tongaat and surrounding areas who witnessed the destruction of their homes and property when a tornado tore through the area on Monday, 3 June, claiming the lives of five people including a toddler.
Leaving destruction in its wake, the tornado uprooted trees, ripped the roofs from houses, and destroyed cars. The MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sboniso Mngadi, confirmed that eThekwini Metro was the hardest hit municipality following the inclement weather on Monday afternoon.
He said: “So far five people have sadly lost their lives in the eThekwini Metro. The oThongathi area has recorded the most incidents, with several homes severely damaged, roofs being blown off and trees falling on electricity lines causing power outages. One of the deceased is a 16-month-old baby. The baby was killed and her twin sister was seriously injured after a wall collapsed on the two girls.”
Among the first responders amid a report of the destruction in Tongaat, was Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA). Prem Balram, head of RUSA, said that on arrival at one of the damaged homes, officers discovered that a lounge wall had collapsed and crushed both children and their mother.
“Residents removed the injured from the rubble. One child suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her twin sister sustained serious injuries and was transported to hospital alongside her mother by ambulance,” said Balram.
This gruesome fate would also be shared by a 39-year-old teacher on Rama Drive. Balram said: “A wall collapsed on the woman, on arrival reaction officers cleared the debris and retrieved the woman’s body. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
EThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, visited the ravaged community on Tuesday, 4 June. Speaking on relief efforts Kaunda said: “Emergency response teams have been deployed and are on the ground to provide emergency relief to those affected. Disaster Management teams are compiling reports to ensure a consolidated government response. We also have law enforcement agencies on the ground, including Metro Police as well as fire and emergency personnel who are attending to those in distress.”
Shaub Bishesher, a resident of Sandfields, described his experience of the incident. “It was raining heavily and I heard my daughter shouting in panic. I then heard a loud sound and suddenly the windows shattered, and glass pieces and other objects were flying around. My daughter, wife, and I just took cover low to the ground. When it was over, I found my washing machine from inside my house on my front lawn.”
Another resident, Tashnee Naidoo, said that her brother who is a homeowner in Sandfields, has been left counting the costs of the damage to his property.
“When we got home it was horrific, there was nothing we could salvage. Literally, in a few seconds, the roof was gone, the walls were collapsing and everything was destroyed. All we could do was seek cover and get to safety. We couldn’t save or recover any furniture, clothing, important documents, or anything of value. There is nothing left now but rubble. Everything is destroyed,” said Naidoo.
By Tuesday afternoon, relief efforts were already underway in some affected areas. Residents were being sheltered at community halls and local schools, as they were unable to return to their homes.
The Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Francois Rodgers, DA EXCO Member and Tongaat Councillor, Yogiswarie Govender, DA KZN Spokesperson on CoGTA spokesperson, and councillors also visited the area. They questioned the slow pace of the relief efforts as some of the affected areas had yet to be attended to.
“This is not the first climatic disaster that we have had, it seems like the city has learned nothing or does not want to learn about how to react properly to a crisis like this. Tongaat needs to be declared a disaster area so that support and help can reach the people sooner rather than later,” said Rodgers.
He also called for a more improved warning system as several people were in their homes when disaster struck. “We need an early warning system and a strategy we could have moved people to safe areas. It’s heartbreaking, our thoughts go out to the people who have lost their loved ones,” added Rodgers.
According to the South African Weather Service, there two tornadoes observed on Monday afternoon. SAWS spokesperson Hannelee Doubell said: “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.”
Doubell said the first tornado occurred between Newcastle and Utrecht over the western interior of KwaZulu-Natal early in the afternoon and initial investigations indicate that it started off as a rope tornado, which developed further into a cone tornado.
“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 (wedgelike). 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. The tornadoes’ strength, damage and impacts will be further investigated and findings will be released upon the completion of the post-severe weather report.
