THE severe weather in Joburg unleashed chaos this afternoon when a tornado ripped through parts of Ekurhuleni.
According to reports, at about 3.40pm the violent winds and torrential rain of the tornado smashed through around Kempton Park and Tembisa. Several injuries from the falling debris were reported when Phumalani Mall, a hospital and a petrol station were devastated by the storm.
Witnesses described roofs being blown off buildings and cars blown over.
Ekurhuleni mayoral spokesperson Zweli Dlamini was quoted in the report as saying: “The metro police‚ disaster management and emergency services – all of them are on the ground right now, basically dealing with the issues as they emanate from each of the areas. The northern part of Ekurhuleni has been the most hit.
“We’ve dispersed teams to go and inspect what has happened there to determine whether it necessitates us declaring any state of disaster or whether to activate facilities where we may need to move people.”
This is the second tornado to have hit Gauteng this week, with one ripping through Magaliesberg yesterday.
Watch the video below:
#Tornado and hail spotted near the OR Tambo International Airport by Evan Baillie. KS pic.twitter.com/dm0WxMC2qx
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 26, 2016