Tornadoes kill two, destroy more than 1,000 homes

Tornadoes ripped through the towns of Ficksburg and Nigel on the weekend, leaving two children dead and thousands homeless.

“Reports from Ficksburg indicate that a tornado has swept through the town leaving more than 1,000 houses destroyed,” said Chris Botha, a spokesman for Netcare 911.

“A total of 42 patients have now been transported to hospital, two of them are in a very serious condition,” Botha said. A nine-year-old boy was confirmed to have been killed, but search-and-rescue teams were still searching the area for more victims.

An eight-year-old child died and 166 people were injured when a tornado hit Duduza outside Nigel, east of Johannesburg, said Ekurhuleni spokesperson Justice Mohale.

“The… tornado that wrecked havoc in Masechaba Extension 2 in Duduza (close to Nigel), completely destroyed over 150 houses.”

Power lines were disrupted and trees were uprooted during the storm on Sunday.

Tornadoes are not uncommon in South Africa. The deadliest single tornado to hit the country struck on 18 January 1999 at Mount Ayliff, located 200km southwest of Durban. 25 people were killed and a further 500 injured when an F4 Tornado hit the town.