[LISTEN] Scores feared dead, missing following New Hanover tornado
The MEC for Cooperative Governance in KwaZulu-Natal Sipho Hlomuka has confirmed that a tornado has hit parts of New Hanover on Tuesday.
“There are fears of possible missing people and deaths,” said Hlomuka's spokesperson Lennox Mabaso on Tuesday evening.
Hlomuka has dispatched disaster management teams to New Hanover area, which includes Thokozani and Mpolweni in the Mshwathi municipality just outside Pietermaritzburg.
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Scores of people have been injured and homes and public infrastructure have been damaged.
Several homes have collapsed, countless trees have been uprooted and the electricity supply in the area has been interrupted.
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Damage to infrastructure belonging to power utility Eskom has been reported including the closure of several roads due to a bridge caving in.