KZN residents warned to stay safe as team assesses tornado damage
Severe thunderstorms are expected after 20 homes were damaged by a tornado struck Utrecht at around 7 pm on Friday night.
JOHANNESBURG – KwaZulu-Natal's co-operative governance MEC Sipho Hlomuka has warned residents to be vigilant in the wake of yet another tornado which has struck the province.
At around 7pm on Friday night a tornado ripped through in Utrecht, an area between Newcastle and Dundee.
Parts of the Watervaal Correctional Services facility, including 20 houses which were used to accommodate staff, were damaged.
MEC Hlomuka immediately dispatched a disaster management team to the area.
He says they will decide on a way forward once the team have assessed the damage.
“The disaster management team is on site assessing the damage but also providing support to our people.”
This is the third tornado to hit the province recently.
Last month 23 people died as a result of weather related incidents in some parts of KZN.
The South African Weather Service has warned severe thunderstorms are expected around the province on Saturday.
Inclement weather conditions are expected to continue across the province, with the weatherservice issuing a warning for severe thunderstorms that bring the possibility of strong winds, hail and heavy downpours in parts of uThukela, uMzinyathi, uMgungundlovu, Amajuba, iLembe, King Cetshwayo Zululand and uMkhanyakude Districts.
Forecaster Wayne Venter said, “Today we do expect another round of severe storms in the area and north-eastern parts of KZN as well.”
More in Local
-
Talks between KZN Health Dept, unions over Durban mortuary to resume
-
Nzimande says SACP will not break its alliance with the ANC
-
Judgment in the Jeremiah Ruiters murder trial to be delivered
-
Almost 60% of SA children live below poverty line: new study
-
Mabuza: Eskom must provide clear plan to deal with rolling blackouts
-
About 280 people saved from Tshwane floods, says city
Comments
EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.
comments powered by DisqusHowever, we will NOT condone the following:
- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.
We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.
We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.
EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.
Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.
EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.