Durban resident speaks of surviving Storm Emma in Ireland
A former Durban resident living in Dublin says his family has been stuck indoors after Ireland was hit by a deadly blizzard.
A snow storm has struck the area, resulting in the closure of schools, roads and businesses.
Temperatures have fallen below zero, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour - that's approximately 80 kilometres an hour. Weather forecasters there have also issued a severe weather warning.
"We were commuting home on Tuesday evening and the snow suddenly started, and it started getting quite bad. Because it's icy, it gets to a stage where you can't spray water on your windscreen because it then ices up and gets worse. We woke up on Wednesday morning and couldn't see the roads, you couldn't see anything. From there, things started to go into lockdown," John Botha says.
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Botha, who has lived in Ireland for a year, says he has never experienced anything like it.
Flights coming in and out of the Dublin airport have been suspended until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Storm Emma has also left thousands of people in Ireland without power.
Botha says they are kept updated by authorities.
"I suppose with social media you find out almost immediately. You are attached to the main radio station and they provide alerts quite often. If you get onto the local news sites, they'll let you know about the situation. The schools will text you, reminding you that they are closed. The garbage collection, which is privatised here, will send you notice that they will reschedule. You do get the notes but you expect it because you look out your door and know that nothing can happen," Botha said.
KZN residents, based in parts of Europe, have shared their snow pictures with Newswatch. See those below.
