Storm causes mass power outage

Several communities in the Zululand region were left in the dark following thunderstorms that swept through KZN over the weekend.

The storm, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, left a trail of infrastructure damage resulting in a mass power outage in parts of the province.

ALSO READ: Storm wreaks havoc in KZN, more heavy rains predicted

While Eskom technicians had worked through Sunday night to restore power supply, some areas, including parts of Empangeni, Mtubatuba, Ulundi, Hlabisa and eShowe were still without electricity by Monday afternoon.

“The province experienced severe thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds and heavy rainfalls, resulting in numerous network trips.

“Eskom officials worked through the night to restore supply to most of the customers,” Eskom KZN spokesperson Joyce Zingoni.

As mop-up operations continue, residents are urged to treat all electrical installations as live for their own safety.

“Restoration progress may be hindered by access to some areas,” said Zingoni.

The SAWS had issued an orange level 5 and yellow level 4 warnings for severe thunderstorms this past weekend into Monday evening.

The weekend rains follow a prior warning of expected higher-than-normal rainfall for KZN over late spring and summer.

While the rains are a welcome relief for farmers and a much-needed boost for reservoirs, the SAWS calls for precautionary measures to be put in place to guard against possible natural disasters.

“These conditions could pose public health risks and the occurrence of natural disasters, especially flooding,” the weather service stated.

“The EL Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is in a neutral state, with rapid cooling experienced in the last month, which could result in a weak La Niña event within the next month if current predictions hold true.

“For South Africa, this translates into generally favourable rainfall conditions for the summer rainfall areas in the north-eastern parts of the country, and is expected to increase the likelihood of flooding during summer,” said SAWS.

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