Government officials called emergency meetings in Durban and Richards Bay on Saturday night to discuss possible evacuation plans for KwaZulu-Natal residents who may be caught in the destructive path of tropical Cyclone Irina, which is expected to hit the north-eastern part of the province on Sunday.
Weather experts on Saturday said Irina could be the biggest storm to affect the province since Cyclone Demoina, which struck in 1984, causing more than a billion rand in damage and the death of 214 people.
Despite the SA Weather Service later reporting that Irina will not be as extreme as initially predicted, emergency personnel and response teams are on standby in anticipation of the storm and dangerous winds. Over 300mm of rain – the monthly average is 113mm – was expected over the next two days.
Places like Kosi Bay, St Lucia and Richards Bay are expected to be the worst hit. By tomorrow the storm would have moved south to Durban and dissipated. However, eThekwini officials have said they are in a state readiness and on Saturday emergency crews stacked sandbags on Durban beaches.
By on Saturday night heavy rain had already fallen on Richards Bay and in the St Lucia area.
“This is rainfall of an extreme and exceptional nature. Marine storm surge, a local rise of sea level in close proximity to the core of the tropical storm, as well as gale-force winds are also likely along the coastline,” said SA Weather Services spokeswoman Hannelee Doubell.
Residents in affected areas have been told to avoid crossing strongly flowing/flooded rivers at causeways or drifts. Those occupying dwellings close to rivers or on floodplains have been advised to evacuate, and fishing boats and small and medium vessels have been told to return to port. The NSRI are on standby.
“We have been warned to put all our structures and communities on full alert in preparation for the cyclone.” KZN premier Zweli Mkhize said on Saturday.
He said mayors and municipal managers from Umkhanyakude, Zululand, uThungulu, Ilembe, eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and Mzinyathi have been told to brace themselves for the impact and spill-over effects of the storm.
“It is better to be over-prepared than to be caught unprepared. Rescue and evacuation, safety and fire units are on standby,” he said.
Mkhize said the provincial cabinet had set up a joint operations centre with Disaster Management, the SAPS, SANDF, Emergency Medical Rescue Services, fire brigades and hospitals. Service organisations and religous and charity organisations had also been notified
“Communities at risk must be identified and, if needed, evacuated. A strong surveillance will be ensured to warn us in time, and the provincial disaster team will act without delay,” said Mkhize.
A spokesman for Co-operative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube, who is co-ordinating an MECs’ disaster management committee, said the joint operations centre would be run from Durban.
On Saturday despite rainfall intensifying in Richards Bay, residents said the mood was generally calm.
“There isn’t any widespread panic or people boarding up their houses at this point,” said Richards Bay resident Dave Savides, “although I have heard of some people leaving town for the weekend because they’ve heard the cyclone is coming.”
“Most times these kinds of things hit Richards Bay last and the damage is minimal. So people are taking it easy at the moment.
“They’re watching to see how things develop,” said Jaylee Moodley, another resident.
Some people were fearful.
“Cyclone Demoina was terrible. Everything was flattened down. Because of all the damage to roads and bridges, for 10 days we couldn’t do anything, we couldn’t go to our jobs. Hopefully, this time it won’t be that bad.”
For St Lucia B&B owner Michelle Pugniet the beginning of the heavy rainfall has brought back vivid memories of Demoina.
“This is exactly how it started. There were a few days of monsoon rains and then suddenly it was full on. Right now (Saturday) it’s picking up all the time,” she said.
“The last time we really were hit for a six. It was chaotic, it really caused a lot of destruction… We’ve taken the necessary precautions. Our security systems are in place and we are as prepared as we could hope to be,” said Pugniet.
Andrew Zaloumis, CEO for the St Lucia Wetlands Park Authority, said officials had also made advance preparations for the arrival of Irina.
“We’ve gone along the fence and put up extra poles, we’ve moved stuff to higher ground, we haven’t launched any boats today and closed off the boat launching areas and we’ve warned all our guests,” said Zaloumis.
“We sure hope it isn’t as bad as Demoina. The fact that people still talk about it and more so now tells you what a major event that was. That caused some serious damage… These days we have cellphones and e-mail warnings go out really quickly so we’ve been able to prepare.”
Meanwhile, eThekwini spokesman, Thabo Mofokeng, said the city was prepared for the heavy rains. “All units of the municipality are on standby… We have sent a team to alert people in informal settlements, people living near flood plains, rivers and storm water drains.”
He urged residents to contact the municipality on 031 361 0000 to report any emergency.
CYCLONE DEMOINA FACTS
*Formed over the Indian ocean on January 19, 1984.
* Moved across Madagascar between January 22 and 24 before hitting land in southern Mozambique on January 28.
* The storm moved south from Mozambique, wreaking havoc for six days in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Swaziland, reaching as far south as Durban.
* Cyclone Demoina resulted in the deaths of 214 people and the loss of livestock and wildlife. The worst hit was the Pongola floodplain where |150 people were killed.
* 721mm of rain was measured in St Lucia where large areas of mangrove forests and Phragmites australis swamps were destroyed.
* In the Mfolozi area, large stretches of farmland were wiped out.
* Eight bridges across northern KwaZulu-Natal were destroyed.
* Total damages amounted to an estimated R1.6 billion. - Sunday Tribune