Disaster teams on standby as heavy rains, thunderstorms expected in parts of KZN
|Published
Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka
Durban - The South African Weather Services has issued a warning of severe weather conditions for parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
According to SAWS, severe thunderstorms are expected over the north-eastern parts of KZN on Tuesday into Wednesday early morning.
Watch:14/04/2020 11h00 TO:14/04/2020 23h00 Heavy rain- leading to localized flooding is expected over most parts of KZN today.
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 14, 2020
There will also be heavy rain that could lead to localised flooding over most parts of KZN.
The same is expected over the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape with severe thunderstorms expected over the the Free State on Tuesday.
There is also an expectation of light snowfall from Tuesday into the early parts of Wednesday on the peaks of the southern Drakensberg regions and the Maluti mountain regions.
🌨 Light snowfall is possible today (Tuesday 14 April 2020) into early Wednesday morning on the peaks of the southern Drakensberg regions and the Maluti mountain regions.
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 14, 2020
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has confirmed that disaster management teams will be on alert across the province. MEC Sipho Hlomuka said the teams were placed on alert due to the warning from SAWS.
Hlomuka assured residents that disaster management teams would be on standby in all the province's districts and will be monitoring all areas that are susceptible to incidents.
He urged residents across the province to exercise great caution as inclement weather conditions pose a serious risk to human life.
“We are appealing to all residents to heed the warning as issued by the authorities. Our teams will be monitoring the situation as large parts of our province could potentially be affected by this storm,” said Hlomuka.