The SA Weather Service has issued a level 2 yellow rain warning for the Western Cape. Photo: Stock Image / Pixabay
KZN latest: Level 5 rain warning issued, more flooding expected
SAWS had initially issued a yellow level 4 rain warning for KZN this weekend but it has now increased to an orange level 5.
The SA Weather Service has issued a level 2 yellow rain warning for the Western Cape. Photo: Stock Image / Pixabay
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued an orange level 5 rain warning for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for the weekend.
The warning is in place from Saturday 16 April at 00:00 until Sunday 17 April at 23:59.
MORE RAIN EXPECTED IN KZN
Initially, SAWS had issued a yellow level 4 warning for KZN this Easter weekend.
As of Saturday, the death toll sits at 395 due to the recent floods.
The weather service said a surface ridging high pressure system, adverting low level moisture, coupled with a steep upper-air trough will result in widespread showers and rain over KZN on Saturday and Sunday.
“Considering that the soil is still saturated, clean-up operations are ongoing and the situation is still volatile, significant impacts are possible over District Municipalities.
“Although we are not expecting the rain to be as heavy as what we’ve experienced in the ast few days, any amount of rain can still lead to further impacts.”
SAWS
POSSIBLE IMPACT:
- Flooding of roads and settlements
- Possible mudslides, rockfalls and soil erosion
- Disruptions due to sinkholes, potholes, blocked drainage systems
- Major disruption of traffic flow due to roads being flooded and closed
- Disruption of municipal services and clean-up operations.
DAMAGE ESTIMATED TO BE OVER 750 MILLION
EThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the recent torrential rains and flooding in KZN caused damages of around R757 million.
Kaunda shared that the tourism and manufacturing industries were among those impacted.
The mayor also explained that the lack of water and electricity in various parts of KZN will definitely affect jobs in the hospitality sector.
Widespread infrastructure damage has led to a loss of running water for scores of residents, especially in the eThekwini Metro are without water.
With no help forthcoming in certain areas, locals have been forced to queue for water from broken pipes.
