HEINZ de Boer, the Ward 36 councillor, has urged residents to remain calm after heavy rains in the province resulted in a small section of tarmac lifting on the M4 Ruth First Highway.

On Thursday morning (February 20) several messages circulated on WhatsApp groups saying the M4 before the Virginia off-ramp (southbound) had cracked and would be closed as city engineers assess the damage.

Also read: Glen Anil sinkhole widens, prompting fears of road collapse

“It’s unclear what caused the tarmac to lift but Metro Police as well as City engineers were on scene this morning. At this point there is minor damage to the tar and no lane closures have occurred. This isn’t the first time something like this has occurred on the M4 but it’s not impacting traffic at the moment,” he said.

There is some concern over a small section of the M4 southbound before the Virginia off-ramp as residents had reported the tarmac lifting. pic.twitter.com/VrnojhKqI2

— Northglen News (@northglennews) February 20, 2025

Meanwhile the eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services has confirmed that four people have died in the south of Durban.

“The adverse weather experienced in the City led to the collapse of formal and informal structures with reports of entrapments being attended to by authorities.

“Four fatalities were reported in Folweni, KwaMakhutha, Demat and Ensimbini after a wall collapsed while the occupants were asleep,” the city said in a statement.

As a safety precaution, several beaches have been temporarily closed until further notice. The muddy water and pollution streaming in from flooded estuaries has led to the temporary closure of the uMdloti Beach, Isipingo Beach, Pipeline Beach, Toti Main Beach, Warner Beach, Winklespruit Beach and uMgababa Beach. These beaches will be reopened as soon as conditions allow.

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