In KwaZulu-Natal alone, 12 people lost their lives, more than 7,000 homes were damaged and 1,200 homeless families are receiving humanitarian aid. The tornado also destroyed or damaged schools, roads, bridges, community halls and electricity infrastructure.

The tornado that smashed through residential areas north of Durban on Monday, 3 June, was found to be a rare and particularly destructive event of its kind that only occurs every decade or so in South Africa.

It was among several incidents that led to the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) classifying the severe weather events in the Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal as a "national disaster".

Last week's floods, strong winds, tornadoes and snowfalls resulted in devastation across the three provinces and caused deaths, injuries, significant property damage, extensive damage to infrastructure and environmental degradation.

Communities were left reeling, with thousands displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance. The declaration comes as the KZN government on Wednesday announced that more than R1.3-billion was needed to deal with the damage in the province.

Head of the National Disaster Management Centre Dr Elias Sithole said the scale of the incidents had surpassed the capacity of the affected communities to manage the disaster using their resources, and as such, the centre had classified the situation as a national disaster due to its impact on at least three provinces, as per Section 23(6) of the Disaster Management Act.

This signifies a formal...