South African storm's death toll rises to 18

Africa News

Jan 5, 2009, 16:54 GMT

Johannesburg - The death toll in a storm that struck South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province over the weekend has risen to 18, according to the South African news agency Sapa, citing government officials. Officials called the storm monstrous. Its victims included five people - including a family of four - killed by lightning. Another four people were washed away in a car in Durban's Kwa-Mashu area. Other dead included a person washed away in Inchanga, three dead in Umzimkhulu, three more in Richmond and one each in Pietermaritzburg and Dalton. A spokesman for the social development department, who asked not to be named, told Sapa that residents were in shock. 'A lot of lives have been affected and these deaths are senseless.' The freak storm wreaked havoc in the province. Residents and officials said it was the worst they had ever seen. It uprooted trees, caved in roofs, collapses walls and houses and caused some area water mains to burst.

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