SA Weather Service confirms KZN Midlands hit by Tornado

The South African Weather Services has confirmed that the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands was hit by a tornado on Tuesday afternoon. 

"At this stage, we can confirm that there was a severe thunderstorm over New Hanover, which developed and formed a tornado. The winds that were driving the storm was quite strong, ranging between 25 and 37 km/h and eventually, a tornado was formed," forecaster, Wiseman Dlamini said.

Watch Weather SA on Twitter said: "Tornadic supercell developed in the Pietermaritzburg area dropping what looks to be a large tornado as well as various reports of severe hail. Instability and wind shear were both supportive of supercells in the area."

Disaster management teams have been activated and dispatched to tornado hit areas. 

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sipho Hlomuka says several injuries have been reported. 

“Preliminary reports received by the department indicate that a number of people who sustained injuries in the incident are receiving medical attention from surrounding hospitals." 

"A number of homes have collapsed, countless trees have been uprooted and the electricity supply in the area has been interrupted. Our teams are working hard to provide support to the affected communities,” he said. 

READ: Massive tornado sweeps through KZN Midlands

Several videos have emerged of areas such as New Hanover and Wartburg being battered by the tornado.