Blythedale Beach, Thompson’s Bay and Clarke Bay in Ballito Bay, KZN, will be closed for bathing from tomorrow due to a large swell expected with the arrival of ‘severe tropical storm’ Cheneso.

The three beaches will remain closed for bathing until the KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM), in conjunction with the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, decide the danger has passed.

“While the cyclone is moving in a south easterly direction we are expecting the swell size to increase.

“The municipality has therefore taken a precautionary measure [to close the beaches], we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause,” said KDM spokesperson Sipho Mkhize.

Cheneso has been making its way across the Indian Ocean since last Friday, first making landfall on Madagascar and causing 16 deaths in the island country.

The South African Weather Service (Saws) said today that the hurricane should not pose a major risk to South Africa, with the hurricane expected to continue travelling eastwards into the ocean.

“Given current guidance from numeric weather prediction models, Saws can confidently state that this system is not expected to directly affect South Africa,” their statement reads.