Pretoria - An eight-year-old boy was killed and many were left homeless when a tornado ripped through the Masechaba Extension 2 area in Duduza, outside Nigel, on Sunday night.
According to Ekurhuleni Emergency Services spokesperson, Rogers Mamaila, the tornado completely destroyed over 150 houses, leaving families displaced. Infrastructure, such as power lines, was damaged and trees were uprooted.
Mamaila said 166 people were treated for various injuries and transported to nearby hospitals including Pholosong in Tsakane and Far East Rand Hospital in Springs.
Gauteng Health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe and Ekurhuleni Mayor Mondli Gungubele are visiting the area this morning to assess the situation.
Senior weather forecaster at the South African Weather Service, Mkhushulwa Msimanga, said more showers and thunderstorms were expected in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, certain parts of Gauteng and the eastern parts of the Free State later on Monday
He explained that tornadoes can occur anywhere where a thunderstorm is possible.
From an analysis of the occurrence of South African tornadoes, it became clear that most of them have been observed in Gauteng, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal - along a line from Pietermaritzburg to Ladysmith - and the northern region of the Eastern Cape.
