Storm wreaks havoc on Empangeni farm

Zululand’s extreme weather reached a peak Sunday night for farms outside Empangeni when excessive winds caused damage to infrastructure.

The weekend’s scorching temperatures, which rose above 40 degrees Celsius in Richards Bay and other parts of the region on Saturday, escalated into disruptive showers and thundershowers on Sunday evening.

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“It looks like we had a twister here,” said farmer Rudi Cracknell from Eindhoek Suiker Farm, speaking to Eyethu Bay Watch on Monday morning.

“With the amount of damage, it can’t have been normal wind,” he said.

Damage included uprooted trees, two toppled electricity poles, fallen cement walls and even a 40-foot container was thrown aside.

This after a level 8 warning for disruptive rain, including widespread thunder showers, was issued by the SA Weather Service (SAWS) on Sunday.

The warning covered the KZN coastline and adjacent interior and was in effect from Sunday midnight to 11pm on Monday.

Wet weather is expected for the rest of the week and the SAWS, as well as local disaster management, urges caution.

“If possible, stay indoors and off the roads; avoid crossing rivers and swollen streams where water is above your ankles; if trapped in a vehicle during a flood, abandon it and climb to higher ground; in buildings, move valuables to a safe place above the flood line; in rural areas, protect or relocate livestock to higher ground; take caution when travelling, or avoid travelling, as roads may be flooded, with potholes filled with water,” said SAWS.

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