Endumeni escapes serious wind damage but welcomes soft rains

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 have caused numerous weather-related incidents across the province.

The Endumeni district also experienced heavy winds on Saturday and there were reports of fierce veld fires and homes been damaged but nothing too serious.  The heavy winds also brought with them cooler weather on Sunday and welcome rain.

The temperature is expected to rise throughout the week. However, Lennox Mabaso of Cogta said parts of the province including  Ugu, eThekwini and Ladysmith,  suffered damage 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.

At least three people reported to be critically injured and were admitted to hospital. No deaths are reported at this stage.

“All reported incidents are being attended to promptly by our disaster management teams which provided immediate disaster relief. We are still assessing the long-term impact of damages to roads, public infrastructure and facilities as well as private properties and we continue to offer assistance to all concerned,” said Dube-Ncube.

KZN Cogta’s disaster management teams are working around the clock throughout the weekend in close cooperation with all District Disaster Management Centres that serve individual municipalities.

“We are responding to the emergencies on the ground with shorter response times and more comprehensive relief packages. We would like to thank all our disaster management teams for their dedication which has mitigated the impact of many disasters for the communities that have no one else to turn to when disasters strike,” said Dube-Ncube.