VIDEO: Fierce fires spark health problems
Respiratory ailments, sinuses and ‘hell-bent headaches’ after week of forest fires.
RICHARDS Bay residents suffered severe respiratory ailments as a thick noxious haze hung over the City of uMhlathuze following the past week’s endless spate of fires.
When two ground fires merged into one giant inferno on Wednesday in Sokhulu, just north of Meerensee, an odorous cloud of smoke set over the suburb, leaving scores of residents with asthma, sore eyes, coughs and headaches – to the extent that many have had to seek medical attention.
‘I had to take my three-year-old for X-rays and my seven-year-old and I have been battling with constant headaches and coughing,’ said resident Melissa van Heerden.
Neighbour Jan-Harm van der Merwe also stated the poor air quality has made his asthma unbearable.
‘It makes it hard to train in this kind of air pollution,’ the cyclist said.
‘One is already struggling to breathe in Richards Bay, never mind getting our lungs full of the burnt rubbish in the air.’
Richards Bay Clean Air Association Chairperson Sandy Camminga said they received numerous complaints.
‘Of all the air concerns, I believe this smoke probably has the worst impact on peoples’ health.
‘It should certainly be taken seriously.’
Camminga suggested keeping doors shut, covering air vents and putting moist, rolled-up towels in front of door gaps to keep out heavily polluted air.
Warning
Zululand Fire Protection Association Fire Officer, Tony Roberts said the current spate of runaway fires is the worst since 2004, with gale force winds exacerbating the situation.
‘We saw 16 valley systems destroyed last week as these indigenous forests between Mtubatuba and Richards Bay bore the brunt of the blazes.
‘A combination of high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds is a recipe for disaster.
‘It has definitely been the worst I’ve ever seen, putting northern KZN deep in the red on the fire danger index,’ said Roberts.
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