A man drowned while crossing the Nzimaneni River, north of Richard's Bay, after tropical storm Irina brought heavy rain.
|||A man drowned while crossing the Nzimaneni River, north of Richard's Bay, after tropical storm Irina brought heavy rain, the KwaZulu-Natal co-operative governance department said on Tuesday.
Nhlobo Mdletshe was trying to cross the river in KwaHlabisa, and was swept away by the current on Monday, MEC Nomusa Dube said.
She warned people against crossing rivers because the currents might still be strong.
Meanwhile, two siblings were seriously injured when the roof of their house was blown away by gale force winds on Monday night in Ndwedwe, in the Ilembe district municipality.
Four-year-old Mlekeleli Ngidi was in a critical condition in the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital and Sphesihle Ngidi, 10, was recovering in Addington Hospital, Dube said.
The SA Weather Service said on Tuesday it was not sure whether tropical storm Irina would return to South Africa this weekend.
“There is a difference of opinion on whether the tropical storm will come back close to the coast again, or if it will stay far away from the coast,” weather spokesman Mnikeli Ndaba said.
Ndaba said the storm was located 748km east of Durban and would not have an impact on land. There would, however, be rough seas along the KwaZulu-Natal coast.
Irina caused heavy storms in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday afternoon. On Monday, the co-operative governance department said about 48 families had been displaced.
Phumaphi Makhaye, 56, broke her legs when her house collapsed on her on Sunday morning in Jozini in the Nyawushadi area, department spokesman Vernon Mchunu said. - Sapa