Durban - The eThekwini Municipality is on high alert after the South African Weather Service (Saws) issued a yellow level 2 weather warning for damaging wind.
“Yellow L2 Warning for damaging wind is expected along the coast between Port Edward and Richards Bay leading to localised disruption of small harbours and/or a port for a short period of time in the morning,” the Saws said.
“The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong south-westerly, reaching gale wind at times in the morning.”
According to the warning, strong to gale force winds are expected along the coastal areas of KZN overnight on Sunday into Monday morning. This will be accompanied by very rough sea conditions with wave heights of 4.0 to 6 metres, which may result in difficulty in navigation at sea.
The wind could cause localised damages to coastal infrastructure, small vessels at risk of taking in water or capsizing, localised disruption of small harbours and ports, and difficulty in navigation due to strong winds and rough seas.
⚠️Yellow level 2 Wind Warning: for KZN coastal areas. Valid from overnight tonight into tomorrow (Monday 30 May 2022) morning. Rough seas can also be expected. pic.twitter.com/esZIqhyY7O
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 29, 2022
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the municipality’s emergency personnel was on standby after Saws issued a warning on the probability of damaging gale force winds along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal on Monday morning.
“The city has been cited as one of the areas along the coast that are likely to bear the brunt of these winds,” Mayisela said.
“Waves of between 4m to 6m between midnight on Sunday and 12pm on Monday are expected. This is likely to trigger rough seas to the detriment of freight and recreational fishing vessels.”
“The city urges the public, more especially residents in informal settlements, to be cautious when using fires during this period, as there is a likelihood of it getting fanned quickly, a recipe for a calamity,” Mayisela added.
Saws also said that for KwaZulu-Natal, morning fog was also expected, otherwise, it would be partly cloudy and cool but cold over the western interior with showers/rain in the northeast.
Earlier, Saws had said that Durban and Richards Bay could expect a fresh to strong south-westerly wind, reaching gale in the first half of the day.
Daily News