KZN disaster teams on high alert as rains batter infrastructure

Heavy rains continued to batter parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, leaving some families with major damage to their homes and causing road infrastructure damage.

KZN co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka said rain continued to batter parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, leaving families with major damage to their homes and causing road infrastructure damage. Hlomuka has urged residents to exercise extreme caution as inclement weather continues across large parts of the province.

The SA Weather Service warned that more rain was expected until Tuesday night.

Hlomuka said a stormwater drain gave way about midnight on Monday and eroded soil, caused the boundary wall of a La Mercy home to collapse.

The family has been left shaken and in desperate need of accommodation.

The stormwater drain which runs between two properties on Twilight Avenue and into a nearby lagoon burst after a heavy downpour on Monday night.

In Ward 16, KwaDukuza, a house collapsed as a result of the heavy rain. No injuries or fatalities were reported in these incidents.

Hlomuka said he had assigned disaster management teams to provide the necessary support to the affected families and to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incidents. “The teams are continuing to monitor areas that are prone to weather-related incidents. Residents who experience these are urged to contact their local disaster management centre.”