AT least three people reported to be critically injured were admitted to hospital following the inclement weather at the weekend.
KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is taking stock of the two days of heavy rain and strong gale force winds that caused numerous weather-related incidents across the province.
The department is also embarking on a clean-up operation to ensure that life throughout KZN returns to normal.
“Our disaster teams have logged and responded to several incidents in Ugu, eThekwini and Ladysmith, which impacted on both public infrastructure and private property and disrupted lives in most parts of the province. The interim assessments reveal that houses had roofs blown away, trees falling over and blocking roads and damaging property and vehicles,” said KZN MEC for Cogta, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
ALSO READ: Gale force winds wreak havoc in KZN
eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Zandile Gumede has also activated a joint response and relief disaster management.
This followed an urgent meeting which was convened by Gumede yesterday morning (17 September) which included ward councillors, provincial disaster management team, ward committees, community mobilisers, Operation Sukuma Sakhe and Amakhosi to establish the extent of the damage caused by gale force winds and to speedily respond to each and every case that has been reported.
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Since the extreme weather is predicted to continue in KwaZulu-Natal this afternoon, Gumede has appealed to residents particularly those in flood-prone areas to be cautious and even move to the nearest community halls for protection where necessary.
“Our joint response and relief team is already on the ground, the mop-up has already begun in areas where roads are blocked and displaced communities are being accommodated in community halls. I want to appeal to residents to be patient as we are responding to each every case that has been reported thus far,” added Gumede.
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