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A severe storm or tornado has left a trail of destruction in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape. (Meteorological Service of SA)
- The meteorological phenomenon that affected Mthatha and the surrounding areas was a multicellular cluster storm.
- There are also strong suggestions of an EF2 or EF3 tornado at night.
- Three people, including a child, were reportedly killed and dozens were taken to hospital.
The meteorological phenomenon that swept through Mthatha Tuesday night, leaving at least three people dead, dozens hospitalized and property damaged, was a multi-celled cluster storm.
There are also strong suggestions that an EF2 or EF3 tornado landed between 17:00 and 18:00.
This was revealed by a team from the SA Meteorological Service, who spent Wednesday studying what affected Mthatha and much of the OR Tambo district municipality and surrounding areas.
According to DispatchLIVE, the storm killed three people, including an 8-year-old boy. The minor from the municipality of Mhlontlo was crushed to death when her house collapsed on her.
READ | Hail storm in KwaZulu-Natal: Missing woman, child struck by lightning
The same fate befell two women from Mthatha, the publication reported.
News24 reported Wednesday that the storm left a trail of destruction as dozens of schools and homes were destroyed by winds of up to 140 km / h.
The glass doors at Mthatha Airport were also damaged in the storm.
At the time, Garth Sampson from SAWS ‘Port Elizabeth office said his national office was trying to establish whether it was a tornado or a storm that was hitting the area.
Residents on social media reported that hundreds of animals were killed in torrential rains or drowned in floods.
The Mthatha disaster came after the South African Meteorological Service (SAWS) issued a severe storm watch, warning of bad weather in the eastern half of the Eastern Cape and most of KwaZulu-Natal.
SAWS reported that it maintained this alert after reassessment on Tuesday morning, following morning showers over central areas of the Eastern Cape.
Gwayibanjwa Upper Secondary School in the Eastern Cape is one of many Mthatha schools that were left with structural damage due to a severe storm. (SA meteorological services)
A severe storm or tornado has left a trail of destruction in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape. (Meteorological Service of SA)
The glass doors of Mthatha Airport in the Eastern Cape were ripped off their hinges by a heavy storm with high winds. (SA meteorological services)
Explaining what had happened, the SAWS team, Puseletso Mofokeng, Lehlohonolo Thobela, Lulama Pheme, Garth Sampson and Kevin Rae, reported: “After a period of daytime warming, a group of thunderclouds developed around 2:00 pm: 00 South African Standard Time (SAST), which stretch between Graaff-Reinet and Cradock in the Eastern Cape. An hour later, these storms merged into relatively strong thunderstorms (multicellular storms) just southeast of Cradock, while another notable storm was 100 km to the north (southwest of Burgersdorp). “
They continued:
Around 16:00 SAST, the multicellular storms moved across Tylden (south of Queenstown) and were associated with at least two peaks that were surpassed – another strong indication of an impending severe thunderstorm. This intensification could be associated with the shortening of the distance between these multicells and another storm cell that moved to the southeast, in the direction of Dordrecht (south of Jamestown).
Multi-celled thunderstorms traveled eastward and for the next three hours, traveled nearly 280 km from Graaff-Reinet to Bofolo (almost halfway from Queenstown to Mthatha), while an intensifying storm (located south of Burgersdorp ) moved about 78 km to the southeast.
At this stage, a secondary meltdown began to take place, further intensifying the storm.
The storm then changed its direction of movement, migrating northeastward, moving 68 km more towards Mbolompo (northwest of Mthatha) but at a significantly slower speed of about 33 km / h (compared to a previous average of 94 km / h ).
Shortly after another change in storm movement, very strong winds from the upgraded multicell storm damaged homes, vehicles, and the nearby airport, uprooting trees and causing heavy downpours leading to localized flooding.
The impact, as evidenced by the photographs, and the short distance traveled between 17:00 and 18:00 SAST, strongly suggests that there was an EF3 tornado.
“The storm is classified as an EF2 to EF3 tornado due to supporting damage: roof sheeting ripped off, roof peeling at the corners in a relatively large area, as well as photographic evidence of a vehicle that appears to have been thrown into the air by the strong winds “.
Urgent call for support
In some images, the roof sheets had been partially torn off in two houses, but in opposite directions.
“It is evident that the clockwise spin associated with the tornadic vortex tube resulted in property damage.”
Meanwhile, Gift of the Givers said it was heading to Mthatha to help some 20 villages where homes, clinics, schools and places of worship were damaged, leaving thousands homeless.
The NGO called it the “largest tornado in recorded history” for the region.
CEO Imtiaz Sooliman said:
Urgent requirements include shelter, corrugated and plastic sheeting, blankets, mattresses, clothing, food packages, bottled water, hygiene and dignity packages.
“Gift of the Givers teams from Adelaide, Free State, Graaff-Reinet and Pietermaritzburg are on their way, with a variety of supplies, including water purification bags, given the drought and the absence of clean water. They will take PPE ( personal protective equipment) distributed in the two hospitals. “
“Given the scale of destruction, public support is welcome.”
For those who wish to donate to Gift of the Givers, they can contact Mandy at 0800 786 911 toll free. Donations are tax deductible.
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