BREAKING NEWS: ‘Tornado’ wreaks havoc in Durban

*Warning: Explicit language in some of the videos*

KWAZULU-NATAL – A tornado struck various parts of Durban on Monday afternoon causing widespread damage and destruction. Videos were spreading like wildfire of the destruction and panic caused by the massive tornado on social media.

Emergency units responded to numerous calls for assistance during torrential rain and hail storm after the storm winds subsided. Properties in La Mercy, Sandfields, Fairbreeze, Sea Tides and Desainager were affected by the devastation. Verulam, Tongaat, Durban North and Umhlanga including Ballito recieved hail and sweeping rain just after 4pm.

Heavy winds and rain swept through Tongaat, which resulted in several structural collapses. Large trees blocked roads after they were uprooted. Residents would chainsaws assisted Emergency Services in clearing the roadways. Roads were blocked by uprooted trees delaying First Responders who had to locate alternate routes to reach emergencies. Several residents whose homes were in the path of the tornado were displaced after their properties were extensively damaged.

A woman was killed in Sandfields after a wall collapsed on her including dozens of residents including minor children seeking shelter from the storm were injured in structural collapses. Trees were uprooted and blocked roads causing major traffic jams. Several vehicles were also damaged during a freak storm that swept through.

The South African Weather Service said on Monday afternoon that it can’t verify the phenomenon at this stage. “We did have a severe thunderstorm alert, tornados are possible with severe storms however, for this tornado, we will need somebody like a credible source because we do not have radar coverage or any sort of live data at this point that can verify a tornado.”