KZN disaster management on standby ahead of heavy rain

DURBAN - Residents in the southern and western parts of KwaZulu-Natal are being warned about more disruptive rain expected to hit the areas on Monday evening.

The provincial Cooperative Governance Department said the harsh weather was likely to strike from midnight.

This follows an alert level 2 warning from the South African Weather Service, which comes hot on the heels of severe conditions that claimed almost 40 lives in the province in December.

The department has further advised that non-essential travelling be postponed until conditions improve.

Disaster teams are on standby as the province gears up for heavy rains which may also result in localised flooding.

All this just two weeks after floods in Ladysmith claimed 22 lives with some people still reported missing.

Cooperative Governance spokesperson, Siboniso Mngadi, said the warning predicted a significant amount of rain.

"The forecast predicts that scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers are expected over KZN today. The models indicate significant amounts of rainfall of more than 50mm over the western parts as well as over the southern parts which may lead to flooding as well as localised impacts."

Meanwhile, the province’s infrastructure affected by the 2022 floods has still not fully recovered while the new disasters are also contributing to damage.