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Looters hit trucks caught in traffic backlog en route to Durban Port
Trucks heading to have been KZN urged to delay their trips as looters target stranded trucks before the Mariannhill Toll Plaza.
N3 between Lynnfield Park and Ashburton | Picture: Twitter @i_trafficKZN
The Road Freight Association is requesting that, where possible, all trucks heading towards the Port of Durban be suspended for now.
It’s understood that trucks coming into the province are already forming long queues along the N3.
Looters hit stranded trucks waiting to get to Durban Port
The Mariannhill Toll Plaza has a backlog of 10km all the way to Hammarsdale and according to the Road Traffic Inspectorate, local communities are now looting the trucks
Access roads around the Port have been damaged, with container yards, truck depots and trucks themselves caught in the flood damage.
“The area is really a disaster at the moment,” said the association’s Gavin Kelly.
“Logistics operations will be impacted and there will be delivery disruptions for goods being imported,” said Kelly.
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The association is advising members to delay any departures towards Durban, and to find depots and safe parking areas along the way.
“Where possible, members have been requested to assist one another to get any vehicles off the road and to secure holding areas until the logistics chain is up and running again.”
KZN flood death toll increases to 60
No foreseeable shortages in foodstuffs and fuel are expected.
KZN has been declared a state of disaster area following the deadly floods that ravaged the province over the past few days.
At least sixty people have died in the disaster and many are still missing.
Emergency services are now scrambling to assist hundreds of residents who have been displaced by the floods after their homes were damaged and washed away.
Businesses have halted operations and several key road networks have been closed due to extensive flooding in the province.
Meanwhile, Eskom has confirmed that it will spare residents in eThekwini from load shedding.
The parastatal’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said, “Eskom can confirm that there will be no load shedding in the eThekwini region that is under the eThekwini Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal due to the floods.
“Eskom is continuously working with the authorities and the disaster management services to do everything it can to assist in the salvage operation in the worst flood-affected areas. There is currently and there will be no load shedding during this crisis in the eThekwini Municipality.”
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Additional reporting by Faizel Patel
NOW READ: KZN Flooding: Eskom shows heart and suspends load shedding in flood-ravaged KZN
