Attention turns to relief efforts in tornado-hit KZN towns

A delegation of local and provincial leaders, as well as political parties visited areas badly-affected in the province.

Monday's powerful storm pummelled many areas, including Umgababa, south of Durban, eShowe, Utrecht, Osizweni, and KwaHlabisa, and left significant damage behind. 

Seatides in La Mercy and Tongaat were particularly hard hit, with scores of roofs torn off homes. 

The area saw streets strewn with fallen trees and light poles, with Seatides Combined School one of the many structures hammered when the tornado rolled in. 

Portions of the school, attended by 900 pupils, were reduced to rubble in seconds. 

Bewildered by the damage in one area, residents were seen sifting through piles of debris, hoping to salvage what was left of their homes. 

Eleven people lost their lives in the storm, including a teacher from Tongaat and a toddler when a wall at her home collapsed. 

Hundreds of properties were severely damaged or destroyed in Tongaat. 

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One woman told Newswatch her critically injured sister was in hospital. 

"She was in bed and she just heard this noise and when she looked she saw the window and everything coming in and it lifted her bed and tilted and landing on her, so she's badly injured."

Her neighbour said they used makeshift gurneys to move those injured to safety. 

“There were no medics, nothing available, we had to make homemade splints, we used broken off the burglar bars, and we put them on that and took them out of her and right down to the shops."

Tash Naidoo said her brother, who lives in Sandfield, lost everything when his house collapsed. 

"When we got here, we were hoping it was just the roof that came off, but we were shocked to see his home entirely damaged. We couldn't salvage anything."

KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited the community of eMagwaveni, which has already started rebuilding. 

"What we've heard from disaster management, is they faced a number of difficulties, one being accessibility, as you have seen the major roads were blocked, even the main arterial road, the M4 was totally blocked."

Donations from several organisations, including East Coast Radio have poured in but volunteers have called for more assistance. 

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