List of African tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred in Africa.
Chad
| Event | Date | Area | Tornadoes | Casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ndjamena tornado | 2 May 2007 | Ndjamena, Chad | 1 | 9 fatalities, 100 injuries | A rare tornado struck Ndjamena, destroying 50 homes and killing nine people.[1] |
| Bebedjia tornado | 9 May 2007 | Bebedjia, Chad | 2 | 14 fatalities, >150 injuries; town was destroyed | An extremely rare and violent tornado tore through Bebedjia, reportedly destroying 95% of the town. The tornado struck at 4:00 pm, and was followed by an equally violent storm six hours later.[1] |
Democratic Republic of the Congo
| Event | Date | Area | Tornadoes | Casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 Yumbi tornado | 2 February 2003 | Yumbi, Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1 | 17 fatalities, 4,000 injuries | An extremely rare tornado swept through areas near the town of Yumbi. 1,700 families were made homeless by the tornado.[2] |
| 2006 Oicha tornado | 8 March 2006 | Oicha | 1 | 3 fatalities, 66 injuries | A "tornado like storm" damaged thousands of buildings, about 1/3 of the total buildings in the town of Oicha. This included houses, schools, churches, commercial buildings, and hospitals. Three were killed and 66 were injured, including 3 in critical condition.[3] |
South Africa
| Event | Date | Area | Tornadoes | Casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roodepoort, South Africa | 26 November 1948 | Highveld | 1 | 4 fatalities, 100 injuries | 700 homes wrecked, damages estimated at R150 million. This tornado made a track of 64 km and had touched down 15 times.[4][5] |
| Zastron, South Africa tornado | 26 November 1948 | Free State | 1 | - | [citation needed] |
| Albertynesville, South Africa tornado | 30 November 1952 | South Africa | - | 20 fatalities, 400 injuries | Cars were lifted 100 feet into the air by the tornado.[6] |
| Paynesville, South Africa tornado | 2 December 1952 | South Africa | - | 11 fatalities | The tornado "threw cattle high into the air".[6] |
| Trompsburg, South Africa tornado | 5 November 1976 | Karoo | - | 5 fatalities | F3 rated tornado which tracked a 175 km long path, mainly through farmland.[7][8] |
| Senekal, South Africa tornado | 15 September 1988 | South Africa | - | 2 fatalities | F3 that tracked a 100 km path over mostly open farmland, killing two children and damaging power lines.[7][8] |
| Welkom, South Africa tornado | 20 March 1990 | Free State | - | destroying 4000 homes | F4 Multi-vortex tornado raced through the suburbs of Welkom with a 240 km long severe storm front and a width of up to 1.7 km. Proved to be the most devastating tornado (in monetary terms) in South Africa's history.[5] |
| Harrismith tornado | 15 November 1998 | Free State | 1 | 0 fatalities, 14 injuries | F2 according to Weather Service. Several houses and three airplane hangars were damaged or destroyed.[9] |
| Umtata (Mthatha)tornado | 15 December 1998 | Eastern Cape | 1 | 18 fatalities, 150 injuries | Category unknown. Large amounts of damage was caused including damage to the hospital. Nelson Mandela, previous president of South Africa was in a pharmacy when the tornado hit, and was protected by his bodyguards while lying on the floor. The pharmacy was also damaged, but Mandela was not injured.3 days later Mandela declared Umtata in a state of emergency at Bridge Street taxi rank outside the shop that suffered 11 fatalities.[10] |
| Mount Ayliff, South Africa tornado | 18 January 1999 | South Africa | - | 25 fatalities, 500 injuries | 120 km long track F4[11][5] |
| Heidelberg, South Africa tornado | 21 October 1999 | South Africa | - | 20 injuries | 100+ km path narrowly missed Johannesburg[12][13] |
| Centurion tornado | 21 October 1999 | Gauteng | 1 | unknown fatality, unknown injuries | F1 according to Weather Service. Damage was caused.[12] |
| Mpumalanga, South Africa tornado outbreak | 9 September 2002 | Mpumalanga | 4 | 2 fatalities[citation needed] | Strong line of storms.[14] Some buildings completely flattened[citation needed] |
| Dullstroom tornado | 1 August 2006 | Mpumalanga | 1 | 0 fatalities, 11 injuries | Several homes damaged, roof a high school completely removed. Estimated to be strong F1, possibly F2.[15] |
| Vryheid tornado | 20 October 2006 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1 | 0 | Rural huts destroyed on a farm 15 km east of the town. Child almost 'taken up' into tornado. Path estimated to be 4 km long. Estimated F1[citation needed] |
| Klerksdorp tornado | 4 March 2007 | North West | 1 | 1 fatality, 3 injuries | F0 (South African Weather Bureah classified it as a "mini tornado"). 200 houses and other buildings damaged.[16] |
| Molweni tornado | 14 November 2008 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1 | 8 fatalities, 200 injuries |
Crossed an urban area. Cars rolled some distance and shipping containers hurled through the air over 200m. Mud huts completely scoured away. Brick houses levelled. Path estimated to be 10 km long. Estimated EF3-4.[17] |
| Bulwer tornado | 6 November 2009 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1 | 1 fatality[citation needed], 66 injuries | F3 according to Weather Service. Cars thrown and cinder brick homes flattened. 178 homes were destroyed.[18] |
| Ficksburg tornado | 3 October 2011 | Free State | 1 | 1 fatality, 42 injuries | F2 according to Weather Service. 122 houses and shacks destroyed.[19] |
| Duduza tornado | 3 October 2011 | Gauteng | 1 | 1 fatality, 166 injuries | F2 according to Weather Service. 150 houses destroyed[20] |
| Bronkhorstspruit tornado | 13 November 2011 | Mpumalanga | 1 | 0 fatalities, 0 injuries | Category unknown. Minimal damage due touching down in open fields.[21] |
| Bethlehem tornado | 23 June 2012 | Free State | 1 | 8 fatalities, 27 injuries | F2. Several houses was destroyed in Bethlehem and Kestell areas[22] |
| Deneysville tornado | 23 June 2012 | Free State | 1 | 1 fatality, 5 injuries | Caused widespread damage and destroyed a house in the Vaal Dam area.[23] |
| Queenstown – Mthaha tornado | 19 September 2013 | Eastern Cape | 1 | - | [citation needed] |
| Tembisa | 26 July 2016 | Gauteng | 1 | 0 fatalities, 3 injuries | Damaged roof of Phumulani Mall and a nearby hospital, causing injuries.[24] |
| Mpumalanga, Standerton | 10 December 2016 | Mpumalanga, Standerton | 1 | 0 fatalities | Spotted about 12 km outside Standerton on the R23 Volksrust Road[25][26] |
| Mpumalanga
Standerton |
11 December 2016 | Mpumalanga, Standerton | 1 | 0 fatalities | Seen in the Kaalspruit/Bloukop Area[27] |
| Vaal Marina | 11 December 2016 | Gauteng | 1 | 0 fatalities, +-50 injuries | At least 300 people were displaced and 50 others injured[28] |
| New Hanover | 12 November 2019 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1 | 2 fatalities, +-18 injuries | Hundreds of people were displaced.[29][30] |
| oThongathi | 3 June 2024 | KwaZulu-Natal | 2 | 11 fatalities, > +-120 injuries | See article on storm complex — Hundreds of houses were damaged or destroyed. 11 deaths, including 7 in oThongathi, where an EF3 wedge tornado was confirmed. About 1500 were displaced. It later became a rare wedge waterspout.[31][32] |
| Pretoria | 18 February 2025 | Gauteng | 1 | None | EF0 landspout tornado struck Montana in northern Pretoria. Displaced many after destroying residential complex.[33][34] |
| Mpumalanga tornadoes | 1 January 2026 | Mpumalanga | 2 | None | A supercell produced two brief tornadoes, one NE of Middelburg and another near Carolina. The tornadoes produced damage but could not be surveyed due to property restrictions and limited time.[35] |
Uganda
| Event | Date | Area | Tornadoes | Casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalangala tornado | 15 March 2025 | Kalangala, Uganda | 1 | 4 fatalities, 30+ injuries | A strong waterspout made landfall in Kalangala, damaging or destroying hundreds of structures across at least five villages, including a police station, homes, and businesses.[36][37][38][39] |