WATCH | One year later, KZN tornado survivors still live in constant fear
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Thursday marks a year that a tornado ripped through the community of Mpolweni, between Pietermaritzburg and New Hanover in KwaZulu-Natal, killing two residents and injuring 37 others.
TimesLIVE visited the area to find out how the community is coping since then.
Thunyeliwe Ndlovu, 64, whose son Sphelele, 40, was one of the casualties, said she lives in constant fear not knowing when another tornado might strike.
“Life has been hard but things are much better now, although there are still fears that this thing [storm] can come back,” she said.
“Rebuilding has been hard, but the children tried. Yes, one of my children works — it is the employer that helped us with rebuilding as you see this house now.
“People tried to help us, although life is still not back to what it was before the storm. They helped with building material.
“We live in uncertainty about this thing returning - especially this month [November]. Yes, we live in fear.”
According to the KZN department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs, 1,762 people were affected.
“At least 465 households were affected, of which 173 were destroyed and 292 partially damaged,” spokesperson Senzo Mzila said at the time.
TimesLIVE