2 die in KZN storms
2009-11-19 22:03
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Johannesburg - Two people were killed in separate incidents related to heavy rains in Port Shepstone on Thursday, SABC news reported.
A 17-year-old schoolgirl died after she was washed away while trying to cross a river to school at Kwandlelu Village.
In the second incident, a man died after his vehicle was swept into a river because of the rain, a KwaZulu-Natal transport spokesperson said.
The accident happened on the P200 road, said spokesperson Bheki Mncube.
"His body was found on the P620 near St Micheals Lagoon, not too far from where the vehicle was swept away," said Mncube.
Warning
Roofs were blown off houses, while others were washed away in parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday as heavy rain lashed the province.
Provincial disaster management head Mthokozisi Duze said the weather service warned of severe conditions on Thursday morning.
The rain started coming down at 08:00, he said. Disaster management had received reports of storm damage from across the province, with some municipalities more badly affected than others.
"Most of KwaZulu-Natal did feel pressure," said Duze. "On the south coast, we had reports of trees falling into the roads, leaving them closed," he said.
There was considerable damage in the Ndwedwe municipality, north of Durban, where homes were washed away.
In Mlalazi, a falling tree injured a person, but no other injuries or fatalities were reported.
More rain coming
Duze said municipal teams were sent to assess the areas and return with "actual figures" on the extent of the damage.
He expected that this would be done by midday on Friday, but cautioned that the process could be hampered by the rain, which was set to continue into the night.
"As I am logging this, there may be more reports coming in... The rain is expected to continue tonight and tomorrow [Friday]," he said.
The SA Weather Service has, meanwhile, dismissed a hoax e-mail circulating indicating that a tropical cyclone hit Durban at 03:30 on Thursday.
"The South African Weather Service did not issue a tropical cyclone warning, however, there is a warning for heavy rainfall over the region," it said in a statement.
- SAPA