KZN residents warned of wet, dark weekend

Severe thunderstorms, with possible strong winds, are being forecast for the province.

The rain is expected from later on Friday, continuing into the weekend.

South African Weather Service forecaster Ayanda Ntsele says there's a possibility of flooding.

"We have an orange level 5 warning for disruptive rain for areas along coast and adjacent interior of KZN as well as a yellow level 2 warning for the Midlands and the northern parts of KZN for disruptive rain. 

"The warning is valid for tomorrow from the early hours until late in the evening." 

Local government authorities say disaster management teams are standing by.

"The teams are on high alert and will continue to monitor areas that are prone to disasters," says KZN Cooperative Governance spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila. 

READ: Environmental Affairs quells SAWS credibility reports

"There is a risk of roads and bridges being submerged so, those that are using vehicles are urged to be cautious on the roads, not to speed and also anyone travelling to ensure that they check the weather forecast before embarking on their journey." 

At the same time, Eskom says there'll be stage 2 load shedding from Friday afternoon at 5pm until 10pm. 

The embattled power supplier says load shedding will be repeated over the weekend at the same timeframe. 

Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha says this is because of a shortage of generation capacity. 

"We currently have 3 405MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 534MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom appeals to all South Africans to help limit the impact of load shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items."