Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

2-minute read
01 July 2023 | 16:25 CAT

Image: South African

The storm that hit large parts of Durban on Tuesday has so far claimed the lives of two people, left several injured and caused mudslides and damage to homes, roads, bridges and water infrastructure.

The worst affected have been tornado-hit Inanda, Phoenix, Ntuzuma, Overport, Shallcross, Pinetown, Mayville and large parts of the south coast.

Besides eThekwini, the province’s south coast also experienced heavy downpours and inclement weather conditions, which continued on Wednesday morning.

Robert McKenzie, the spokesperson for KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Service (EMS), said several informal dwellings had been washed away in Cato Crest, sadly resulting in one fatality and leaving six people injured.

He said localised flooding was widespread in several areas, “but no further fatalities have been reported to EMS at this stage”.

“There has been flooding on several roads of Durban, with water flowing onto low-lying bridges and washing debris onto roads,” says McKenzie.

Disaster management and government teams have been assessing and accessing areas badly affected by the storms.

The eThekwini Municipality said it had set up a joint emergency operations team to coordinate the response to the heavy winds and rains that have battered some parts of the PINK area (Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu) and Folweni. City head of communications Lindiwe Khuzwayo said emergency and rescue teams had been dispatched to both areas to assess the damage’s extent and assist families.

Listen to the full in interview on Radio Islam’s podcast.

https://soundcloud.com/radioislam/kzn-battered-by-tornado?si=88db78f2c0e84db1889c6bb49dc044ec&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing