Pretoria - The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government is on high alert after the South African Weather Services warned of heavy rains due to a cyclone off the southern east coast of Africa.
While it had initially been predicted that Cyclone Irina would hit the province at the weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Saturday that the storm would not be as extreme as initially predicted.
It said the storm would retain a Moderate Tropical Storm status until Tuesday.
"Due to its position relative to the coastline it will, however, still result in heavy falls of rain over the extreme southern parts of Mozambique, Swaziland, Mpumalanga southern Highveld and the east coast and adjacent interior of South Africa, which will create the risk for flooding," said the weather services on Saturday.
It added that very rough seas with wave heights in excess of 4 - 6m were expected from Richards Bay to Maputo.
The provincial government said it had set up structures to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone.
"We have been warned to put all our structures and communities on full alert in preparation for the cyclone. It is better to be over prepared than be caught unprepared. Rescue and evacuation, safety and fire units have been put on standby," said KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The mayors and municipal managers from Umkhanyakude, Zululand, uThungulu, Ilembe, eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and Mzinyathi have been put on alert and members of the Cabinet have set up a Joint Operations Centre with disaster management, SAPS, SANDF, EMRS, fire brigades and hospitals being activated.
"Communities at risk must identified and if needed, be evacuated. A strong surveillance will be ensured to warn us in time, and the Provincial Disaster Team shall act without delay," said Dr Mkhize.
Residents have been urged to remain calm, remain indoors and avoid crossing rivers and streams.
