KZN schools to close early amid severe weather warnings

The KwaZulu-Natal government has instructed all schools to release pupils early on Wednesday amid severe weather warnings.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a level 5 warning for disruptive rain in the province.

“Widespread showers and thundershowers are expected over KwaZulu-Natal tomorrow [Wednesday]. Significant rainfall is expected and given the recent flooding across the province, the soil is still saturated. More than 80mm of rainfall accumulation is predicted in some places along the coast and the northern interior of KZN. There is a high risk of widespread flooding,” warned the weather service on Tuesday.

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The areas expected to be heavily affected include Abaqulusi, Big Five Hlabisa, Big Five Hlabisa − Hluhluwe, eDumbe, eThekwini, Jozini, KwaDukuza, Mandeni, Maphumulo, Mkhambathini, Mthonjaneni, Mtubatuba, Ndwedwe, Nkandla, Nongoma, Ray Nkonyeni, Ulundi, uMdoni, uMhlabuyalingana, uMhlathuze, uMlalazi, Umzumbe, uPhongolo.

The weather service called on residents to stay indoors and off the road.

KwaZulu-Natal has been experiencing various challenges in the recent weeks emanating from flooding, with a number of communities seriously affected, with at least 50 people losing their lives since December.

The provincial government has called on schools to release pupils by 1pm as a safety precaution.

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“In the event that rain falls before the stipulated time, principals must exercise their discretions in line with the guidelines issued on 16 October. All responsibility managers must release staff by 1pm,” it said.

Recent storms and floods in KwaZulu-Natal have caused severe damage to school infrastructure, with 59 schools in nine of the 12 districts affected, said MEC Mbali Frazer on Sunday.

However, the KZN Department of Education assured parents that it has put in place various measures to ensure that affected schools are provided with interim measures, including mobile classrooms, mobile ablution facilities and the dislodging of existing ablution facilities.

READ MORE: Floods in KZN severely damage 59 schools across 9 districts