By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
This week’s harsh weather, with its torrential rain and localised flooding, has dealt a severe blow to Kwazulu/Natal.
The menacing tornado on Tuesday wrought significant damage to the infrastructure and homes in the province. It has left four people dead and hundreds of others homeless.
According to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, areas severely affected by the heavy rains and strong winds are: Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu, Pinetown and surrounding areas, Folweni, and the north of Durban.
In the Ugu District, the hardest-hit areas were Umzumbe, Umdoni and Umuziwabantu.
Departmental spokesperson Nonala Ndlovu said preliminary reports indicated extensive damage to road infrastructure, electricity, sewerage systems, and housing.
Ndlovu said: Many houses suffered roof damage, collapsed walls, and flooding.
The report also noted that the agricultural sector has also suffered losses, with four gardens in Inanda – wards 51, 54 and 55 – affected.
“Additionally, approximately 700 chicken broilers in Inanda were adversely affected. The environmental impact of the heavy rains has resulted in pollution at Blue Lagoon Beach in Durban, caused by debris from the Umgeni River.
“The department, in partnership with eThekwini, is facilitating the cleaning of the beach, which may temporarily lead to its closure. No reports have been received thus far regarding the affected business sector,” Ndlovu said.
Ndlovu said the Provincial Disaster Management Center (PDMC) has swiftly responded to the unfortunate incidents, dispatching disaster teams to assess the extent of the destruction caused by the severe weather conditions in Durban Metro and Ugu District Municipality, in the South Coast.
Through the PDMC, the department has provided immediate relief materials to the affected victims, and these include over 300 food parcels, 2 750 blankets, 5 500 plastic sheetings, and 550 emergency boxes (Box B), as part of the winter contingency planning across all districts and the metro.
“Community-based structures such as Ward Committees, Community Development Workers (CDWs), traditional leaders, and Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) War Rooms have been activated and play a crucial role in disseminating weather forecast awareness messages, through loud hailing to mitigate severe impacts.
“Mop-up campaigns are being coordinated with municipalities to clean the affected areas promptly. To aid in the recovery efforts and restore normalcy, state institutions such as Eskom have been mobilised to assist in repairs.
“Eskom, along with the Municipal Electrical Department, has been activated to restore power to the affected areas,” Ndlovu highlighted.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the Department of Social Development have also been activated to work with municipal disaster management teams, expediting profiling and immediate relief efforts for the affected families.
Ndlovu added that social workers are on standby and ready to provide psycho-social support services, social welfare assistance, and child protection services.
“Provincial and municipal emergency services, including the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI), Emergency Medical Services (EMS), South African Police Service (SAPS), Metro Police, and search and rescue teams, have been activated and are prepared to respond swiftly to any emergencies.”
Meanwhile the South African Weather Service predicts a warm weekend for Gauteng residents with highs ranging between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday.
This relatively warm winter weather will not be felt in other parts of the country, though, with a prediction of disruptive snowfall in parts of the Eastern Cape and southern Drakensberg.
“Apart from a drop in temperature for us in Gauteng today and Friday, we aren’t really expecting much activity in terms of weather. Temperatures will be cooler on Friday, ranging between 18 and 21. As you go into the weekend, temperatures will warm up a little bit, ranging between 19 to 23 for Saturday and will be roughly the same on Sunday and no rainfall is expected,” said SAWS forecaster Mbavhi Maliage.