eThekwini residents urged to take weather warnings seriously

The eThekwini Disaster Management Unit has highlighted human behaviour as one of the causes of death during extreme weather patterns.

Over years, hundreds of weather-related deaths have been recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) alone, with some of the cases in the eThekwini metro.

Authorities say residents tend to ignore the early warnings issued when inclement weather conditions are expected in the province.

eThekwini manager for disaster risk Jotham Khumalo says this is concerning.

“The early warnings are disseminated to the communities; it rests upon an individual to respond. How they respond to these warnings – for example, if the warning says there will be flooding but someone decides to go out – it is their decision.” Khumalo said.

Khumalo has urged residents to take the weather warnings seriously in a bid to save lives.

"Sometimes it is human error but also human behaviour at the same time, so we urge our communities to take us seriously if the media warns of flooded roads – rather avoid those areas instead of wanting to see the areas that have been reported as flooded or as high risk," he added.