Shark safety gear removed due to severe weather, bathing beaches closed
Bathing beaches along the KZN coast will close from today (February 4) until weather conditions return to normal.
A category 4 (wind speeds up to 110 knots) tropical cyclone ‘Batsirai’ is currently on course and predicted to make land in southern Mozambique early next week.
According to Greg Thompson, acting head of operations of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB), this forecast could possibly have a major effect on local sea and weather conditions from Sunday (February 6).
KZNSB in association with several weather forecasting services is currently observing the development of two other severe weather advisories which are also forecast to affect local weather patterns around the same time as tropical cyclone Batsirai.
“A very large mass of rainfall stretching from Namibia all the way across the Northern Cape and into the Eastern Cape is fast approaching the KZN coastline, and a massive cold front which is developing in the Atlantic Ocean and currently approaching the Western Cape is also predicted to reach us early next week,” said Thompson.
Due to the above, the KZNSB operations management team in conjunction with the executive, had taken a decision to start removing all of the board’s shark safety gear from the water when boats launched yesterday morning (February 3).
“This action has been taken to prevent unnecessary losses and/or damage to equipment as a result of strong winds and heavy seas, associated with these severe weather systems, and bathing will be closed at all recognised KZN bathing beaches as from today (February 4),” said Thompson.
The gear will be redeployed once these systems dissipate, and the sea and weather conditions return to normal.
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