SA Weather Service warns of more torrential rain in KZN
As the storms continue unabated - the South African Weather Service has issued a very serious alert for KwaZulu Natal.
An orange level 8 warning is in place, with forecasters urging residents to be extra cautious as torrential rains continue to pound parts of the province, including Durban, Margate, Port Shepstone and Harding.
The weather office's Thandiwe Gumede explains what the province is experiencing is because of a cut-off low pressure system that's covered the eastern parts of the country, and concentrated over KZN's south eastern regions.
“With today’s rain, that is expected to continue mostly over the southern parts. Areas like Margate, Port Edward, Port Shepstone, moving through the Midlands to areas like Harding, Umzimkulu, Mzwabantu, moving north a bit to Richmond, Pietermaritzburg’s side, including Durban and most parts of eThekwini as well.”
Durban Floods: N2 Highway / M4 Highway Interchange at Prospecton - shipping containers floating in the flood waters - ROADS CLOSED pic.twitter.com/qIGTIKC4Jv
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) April 12, 2022
Chaotic scenes emerged across KZN overnight as heavy rains and storms unleashed unprecedented rainfall and flooding of roads, settlements, schools and bridges. Gumede's warning of more sinkholes, mudslides ,soil erosion and major disruption of traffic.
As local authorities and teams respond to life-threatening emergencies - Marshal Security's Tyron Powell says their teams and resources have been spread thin due to the weather chaos in in uMdloti.
He is urging people to stay at home.
“The guys have been assisting pulling vehicles from thick mud and that.
We have been trying to assist wherever we can where people’s homes have been flooding. It’s difficult, there is so much going on at the moment, emergency services are stretched to the max.
“The guys really are struggling out there but it’s just making it worse when people are out on the roads.”
Residents living in the Umdloti Isikhulu building, north of Durban have been evacuated, after floodwaters streamed through the north beach road complex yesterday.
eThekwini metro police spokesperson Parboo Sewpersad says officials have worked tirelessly to help residents evacuate the premises.
”The apartment has been flooded due to the construction or the sand, and has given way with the water and has come down to the flat.
“The building is not on the verge of collapsing, it is the water from the upper-laying areas which has made its way through the flats onto the roadway.”
