The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Nomusa Dube-Ncube has commended the coordinated efforts by disaster and rapid response teams to avert disasters in the province as adverse weather conditions persist.
The current torrential rains tormenting KwaZulu-Natal have affected most parts of province with Ugu, Ilembe, King Cetshwayo, Umgungundlovu, and eThekwini District Municipalities severely affected.
“As provincial government, we commend the concerted and combined efforts of the rapid response teams to deal with the impact of disruptive weather conditions in the province. We acknowledge the work done by our communication teams in alerting our communities of the imminent danger.
We applaud the proactive and decisive action by the Department of Education to release learners and teachers early today due to severe weather warnings as issued by the South African Weather Services. Their commendable action has gone a long way in preventing incidents which could have left a trail of destruction and even loss of life,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
The Premier however said that the inclement weather should not dampen the jubilation that accompanies the start of the academic year and specifically the 2024 school year. “Our main priority is to ensure the safety of our educators, learners and communities.”
Although the Premier expressed her satisfaction with the smooth start to the first day of schooling, bar a few challenges, she expressed concern that 59 schools in the province were ravaged by floods which engulfed KwaZulu-Natal in December and January.
Of the 59 schools which were damaged by the floods, 28 are from the uMkhanyakude District Municipality.
“To mitigate the negative impact visited by floods on schools and infrastructure, we have dispatched more than 200 mobile classrooms so that learning and teaching continues without disruption. The disaster management teams are on the ground to monitor damage caused by flooding on the infrastructure and speedily effect repairs.” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
The Premier assured KwaZulu-Natal citizens that the province is ready to weather the storms brought by inclement weather. She encouraged communities living in low-lying and flood-prone areas to heed constant warnings issued by the South African Weather Service and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The Weather Service issued an Orange Level 5 warning particularly for the Coastal areas of the province. This level signals disruptive rains which lead to widespread flooding of roads, settlements and damage to houses as well as displacement of communities and threat to life especially in the northern parts of the province.
“We urge motorists to exercise extreme caution by not crossing low-lying bridges and raging rivers,” concluded Premier Dube-Ncube.