Communities and relief organisations are providing hot meals, shelter and medical assistance to hundreds of people displaced by the two tornados that tore through KwaZulu-Natal on Monday.

Two powerful tornadoes tore through communities outside Durban on Monday, leaving destruction in their wake. At least 11 people died, hundreds were displaced and homes and schools were destroyed. Some people have lost everything.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) advised that although a singular weather event cannot be directly correlated to climate change, climatologists agreed that these types of weather systems may become more frequent and intense due to a warming climate.

The worst damage was reported in Tongaat north of Durban, where the larger tornado left residents of the town reeling.

Relief efforts are under way with communities and organisations providing hot meals, shelter and medical assistance to those in need.

"We had teams out at the affected areas assisting the victims and removing uprooted trees... our teams were busy assisting to chainsaw the fallen trees, trying to free victims from these areas so that they could get medical assistance," said Yogan Naidoo, operations officer of the Tongaat Community Forum.

Naidoo and the forum have been assisting with coordinating relief efforts across communities and with governmental and non-government organisations. They have set up a disaster management centre at the Vishwaroop temple in Tongaat Central, which was also used...