Wednesday, February 22, 2012

10/03/11 Deadly African Tornado

Strong storms moved through parts of central and eastern South Africa this past weekend. A total of 4 people are reported dead, over 200 injured, and thousands left homeless.
tornrubble
In Ficksburg, a nine-year-old boy was killed when the wall of his home collapsed on him, said police spokesman Captain Phumelelo Dlamini. The storm also injured 42 people and destroyed over 150 homes in Ficksburg, which is located in the Free State province.
Also, according to the Ekurhuleni municipality, an 8-year-old child died, along with more than 160 people injured when a twister struck Duduza, about 40 miles east of Johannesburg.
Lightning also killed two more people in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, and left an additional eight injured, according to a spokesman for the provincial government.
Mondli Gungubele, the mayor of Ekurhuleni, said Monday that Duduza would be declared a disaster zone.
While tornadoes in South Africa are not rare, they also are not incredibly common either. The most recent deadly tornado was on November 6, 2009, when an EF3 tornado ripped through KwaZulu-Natal killing one and injuring 30. The deadliest tornado in recorded time to hit the South Africa was back on January 18, 1999 at Mount Ayliff. A total of 25 people were killed, and  500 were injured, when an F4 Tornado hit the town.
tornmap
Sources: South Africa News24, AFP, and LA Times

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