While there is much legitimate footage of Monday’s tornado that devastated parts of the Tongaat region in KZN, there is also a fake video doing the rounds on social media platforms.

The video, which contains drone footage supposedly of Monday’s Tongaat tornado, is being shared far and wide, yet a verification search online shows that the video is two years old.

The footage was captured in 2022 by the Dominator Drone when a tornado swept through Andover, Kansas in the USA on April 29 of that year.

Remarkably, no lives were lost in this EF3 tornado, which typically has wind speeds of between 218 and 266km/h, despite 1 000 structures being demolished.

Social media users are reminded to verify photo and video footage before sharing.

Footage of tornadoes confirmed in KZN

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) confirmed that at least two tornadoes were observed in KZN on Monday afternoon.

The first tornado occurred between Newcastle and Utrecht over the western interior of KZN early in the afternoon and initial investigations indicate that it started off as a rope tornado, which developed into a cone tornado, said SAWS.

A larger tornado developed later in the afternoon around Tongaat, and moved east to the coast near Westbrook and Ballito, where it caused significant damage. This tornado was stronger and larger (wedge-like).