DURBAN - TWO PEOPLE were killed by lightning in KwaZulu-Natal this week.
Nhlanzeko Mthembu, 10, and Mziwenkosi Phungula, 45, were struck by lightning on Monday.
Senzelwe Mzia, the spokesperson for KZN’s Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), said Nhlanzeko, 10, a Grade 4 pupil, was with other children on their way to the Lufafa Primary School on Monday morning when he was killed.
Mzia said Phungula was killed at his home in the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma local municipality, in Gobhogobho.
Cogta MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, has expressed his condolences to both families.
On Tuesday, disaster management teams responded to an incident in La Mercy, north of Durban, where parts of a road collapsed and caused a section of a house to wash away. In KwaDukuza, ward 16, a house collapsed as a result of the heavy rains.
According to The Mercury, the family of four had to find accommodation elsewhere. The family said a stormwater pipe between two properties burst in the early hours of the morning.
A family member, who spoke to The Mercury at the scene and asked not to be named, said water entered the house and washed away the soil underneath it.
Hlomuka called on municipalities to ensure that stormwater drainage systems were regularly maintained to avoid the risk of water building up.
He has also urged residents to dispose of litter appropriately. From the assessment done by the department, the failure to dispose of litter properly by residents contributes to the blocking of stormwater drainage systems.
IOL