Johannesburg – The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has confirmed that a tornado hit the Randfontein area on Wednesday, (27 November 2024).
SAWS said from evidence gathered from meteorological RADAR, that the storm damage and recorded circulating debris in the Randfontein area “was due to a tornado event”.
Before the storm, SAWS issued a Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms with the possibility of heavy downpours, strong gusty winds, and large amounts of small hail, but with large hail in some areas across Gauteng.
SAWS said the warning was issued at 08:30 on Wednesday morning, (27 November 2024).
The tornado hit Randfontein Wednesday afternoon, affecting areas that includedToekomsrus, Mohlakeng, and Greenfields.
Many houses and buildings were damaged, including the new local shopping mall in Mohlakeng.
“Based on the analysis, the storm can be rated as an EF2 on the enhanced Fujita scale,” SAWS said.
Preliminary reports on Wednesday indicated that at least 21 injured persons were transported from Imphakasi Mall, and damage assessments were conducted in nearby areas.
