[WEATHER WARNING] Easter rain for KZN

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has released a level four weather alert for heavy rain expected along the KZN coastline over Easter weekend. The rain is scheduled to begin during the afternoon of Friday 15 April and carry on through to midnight on Saturday 16 April.

At the same time, other areas of the country can also expect rainy weather over the Easter weekend. The North West, Free State and Eastern Cape are likely to experience the return of thunderstorms predicted to bring heavy rain, strong winds and possibly hail.

SAWS warns that the storms could cause flooding, sinkholes, mudslides, rockfalls and soil erosion. Any and all of which could lead to disruptions, damage to property and danger to life.

Instructions:

• Stay indoors.
• Avoid crossing rivers and swollen streams. 
• If trapped in a flooding vehicle or structure, abandon it and climb to higher ground.
• Move valuables to a safe place above the expected flood level. 
• Move livestock to higher grounds.

Damaging winds

KwaZulu-Natal can also buckle down for the damaging winds expected on Friday 15 April. Although SAWS has only released a level two alert for wind, the public should still be cautious. Individuals should be wary of consequences such as falling trees, disrupted harbours and coastlines, as well as difficult navigation at sea.

Furthermore, SAWS instructs the public to avoid starting fires. In strong wind fire can easily spread and quickly become uncontrollable. 

Already declared a state of disaster

The KZN Easter rain comes as sad news for the already flood devastated province which has yet to recover from the loss of lives and infrastructure caused by the torrential rain that began on Monday 11 April. Extreme flooding has cost over 300 lives and resulted in billions of rands of damage, prompting the president’s declaration of state disaster.

However, SAWS predicts this weekend’s coming rain to have less of an impact. The media statement released claims, “The South African Weather Service acknowledges the unconventional naming of the low pressure that has caused devastation over KwaZulu-Natal earlier this week, however, this low pressure is not expected to cause any further impacts over the country as it is forecasted to move away from South Africa.”