Rain, rain, rain for the mid-South Coast

Heavy rains have drenched much of the South Coast since the beginning of the Easter weekend.

This has resulted in widespread flooding and serious damage to roads and other infrastructure. Yesterday (Tuesday) morning this week, 50mm of rain was recorded in Scottburgh South between 9am and 10am, while more than 200mm of rain has been recorded since Good Friday (April 19).

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“There has been massive damage to public and private infrastructure,” said KZN EMS spokesman, Robert Mackenzie.

“We have had reports of collapsed walls and mudslides as well as roads that have been flooded. Parts of the province are also experiencing power failures as a result of the extreme weather.”

Rivers have been in full spate and many have broken their banks.

Park Rynie has been hard hit. Yesterday (Tuesday) standing water covered the parking area at the beach, the boom gate was broken and the tunnel leading to the stairs going down to the beach became a river as heavy rains continued to fall.

The park grounds were waterlogged and the river was in flood.

Several trees were blown over, falling onto roads in some places, causing traffic to come to a standstill.

Other places to experience severe flooding included Scottburgh Golf Course, the Umkomaas river mouth and bridge as well as Club Marina in Ifafa.

Due to the wet weather, numerous crashes were reported. On Monday a taxi was involved in an accident near Crocworld. Some 15 patients were treated.

There were accidents on the N2 at Sezela, where people were trapped in their vehicles, and on Tuesday morning, the Ellingham stretch of road in Umzinto was so waterlogged that a vehicle was swept off the road.  An accident was reported on the N2 northbound in Umkomaas and another on the R612 in Umzinto.

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