Durban - A police officer has died and one has just been paramedics rescued another in Rotterdam Road in the Bayhead after a container fell on a police vehicle. People are currently trapped in five vehicles which are submerged in Sarnia Road in Jacobs. paramedics are at the scene.Ethekwini municipality warned all people to stay in doors and for traffic to remain off the road as a massive storm ravaged Durban this morning, flooding roads and businesses, downing trees and causing traffic chaos.
The council warned motorists to stay off the roads until the storm passes. All roads in the southern part of the city have been closed. The storm has been classified as a category three storm with winds Current wind measures at 70km an hour and e
The roof at King Edward hospital collapsed and patients are currently being evacuated. There has been a mudslide near Doonside. A school has collapsed at Bushlands on the Bluff.
Images shared on social media showed cars being submerged in flood water on the N2 freeway in Durban. The Mangosuthu Highway in Umlazi was also badly hit. There were also reports of trees being knocked down by the high-speed winds. Roofs on several homes across the city were also blown off and homes were flooded.
“Due to the inclement weather conditions currently being experienced in Durban, all residents are urged to stay indoors until the storm passes,” said Tozi Mthethwa, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson.
“Residents are also cautioned against driving or walking anywhere for the duration of the storm. All roads in the southern parts of Durban have been closed,” Mthethwa said.
The N2 free was closed in both directions at Galleria Mall due to severe flooding. The storm knocked down powerlines and caused outages in several suburbs on the south coast. Several homes and buildings were also flooded.
All ambulance, fire and distaster management services are out in full force. It's impossible to quantify anything now," said Robert MacKenzie, media liaison officer for KZN Emergency Medical Services.
On the weather front KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga are expected to be lashed by the rains while there is a prediction of snow in south parts of the Drakensberg. This is due to an intense cut off low system. The heavy rainfall could lead to localised flooding.
Jan Vermeulen, a forecaster from SA Weather Services said there had already been at least 108 millimetres of rainfall reported in Paddock.
“We can expect lots of rainfall in KZN today, more especially along the coast with widespread showers. There is a warning for heavy rain in some parts of the province. This will mainly affect the coast and adjacent parts. The system is still moving. There may be a peak of sunshine later today or early tomorrow. It is expected to clear a little by Wednesday with Thursday being a fine and warmer day,” Vermeulen said.
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He added that there is another cold front expected to hit the KZN again by the weekend.
Ethekwini Municipality Disaster teams have confirmed that they are on standby.
This video was posted on Facebook showing the storm in Rossburgh south of Durban