‘Tornado-like’ storm and tremor felt hours apart

The start to the weekend proved to be a strange and unpredictable one, after a freak storm and a tremor occurred in different parts of KwaZulu-Natal in the space of a few hours.

20-minute storm

A storm described as “tornado-like” ripped through parts of the province on Saturday morning, leaving a trail of destruction.

Reportedly only 20 minutes long, intense wind and rain at around 11am brought down a number of trees in Dundee and Glencoe, Northern Natal Courier reports.

Talana Museum was particularly hard hit, with a large tree crashing down on the building, and flattening a JoJo tank.

Disaster management and traffic officials worked hard to clear obstructions in the road.

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It is reported that many roads are still covered in debris from the storm, and motorists are urged to travel with extreme caution.

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The severe storm brought the 50 th anniversary fun day at Dundee Junior to an abrupt halt. Photo: Northern Natal Courier

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Disaster Management Workers clearing the roads. Photo: Northern Natal Courier

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Branches littered Union Street. Photo: Northern Natal Courier

Richards Bay tremor

A few hours away, the Zululand region was rocked by a “seismic-like” event after a tremor was felt on Saturday afternoon, Zululand Observer reports.

The tremor reportedly took place just after 2:30pm, and was felt in varying degrees of severity by residents from Richards Bay to Stanger, uMhlanga and Durban.

One Nkandla resident told the publication he thought his house was falling apart, while a resident from Arboretum said his entire house shook.

Most people who felt the tremor said it only lasted a short while. No damage has been reported so far.

Volcano Discovery reports the epicentre of the tremor was 86km southeast of Dundee, with a “moderate magnitude” of 4.6, at a depth of 9.8km.

The website said 134 reports of the tremor were made.

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Compiled and edited by Nica Richards.

These articles first appeared on Caxton publications Northern Natal Courier‘s and Zululand Observer’s websites. Read the original articles here and here.