Staff Reporter
Flooded roads, fallen trees and damaged vehicles caused widespread disruption across parts of eThekwini on Sunday night after severe storms swept through the city and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
The worst impact in eThekwini was reported in the central and southern parts of the city, where municipal officials logged 22 incidents, particularly in Chatsworth and Morningside.
Western areas, such as Westville, recorded 13 incidents, while seven were reported in the north, with Newlands West among the hardest-hit areas.
KwaZulu-Natal’s cooperative governance and traditional affairs department (Cogta) said the storms, which also affected Pietermaritzburg, were marked by gale-force winds, thunder and hail, uprooting trees, damaging power lines and flooding major roads.
The department said technical assessments were under way in both regions to determine the full extent of the damage and that no fatalities had been reported by Monday morning.
eThekwini municipality said its disaster management teams, working with parks officials, were deployed immediately after the storm and remained on the ground clearing obstructions, managing flooded areas, and trying to restore access on affected routes.
The city said numerous roads had been submerged, vehicles damaged and key routes blocked by fallen trees, causing major traffic disruption in several areas.
Provincial authorities said the provincial disaster management centre was coordinating with affected municipalities as mop-up operations got under way to clear debris and restore services.
The municipality urged residents to avoid flooded roads and to report hazards such as fallen trees, blocked routes and damaged power lines through official channels.
It also warned motorists not to attempt to cross waterlogged roads, saying floodwaters could be deeper and more dangerous than they appeared.
The South African Weather Service forecast cooler, unsettled conditions for Durban, with temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius on Monday, followed by 22 degrees and 19 degrees on Tuesday.
In its regional forecast for Tuesday, SAWS said isolated showers and thundershowers were expected over the northern and eastern parts of the country, while winds along the coast would be moderate to fresh south-easterly to southerly before easing later in the day.
INSIDE METROS