ORRING SINGH
The eThekwini municipality is not taking any chances, warning people to brace for possible heavy downpours as a result of a tropical storm which could make landfall in Mozambique on Thursday before moving into SA.
#Eloise has weakened to an overland depression over northern #Madagascar and is expected to enter the Mozambique Channel on Thursday. System can strengthen to a tropical cyclone before striking southern #Mozambique later Saturday or Saturday night, local time. pic.twitter.com/Wd5mUbH15c
— Jason Nicholls (@jnmet) January 20, 2021
While the true effects of cyclone Eloise are yet to be felt, as the storm could diminish in strength as it moves further inland and into SA, the eThekwini municipality said it was monitoring the situation.
“The storm has been tipped by the SA Weather Service (SAWS) to trigger heavy rainfall that may result in localised flooding that may displace certain communities in low-lying areas,” the council said.
Saws said on Wednesday there was a high probability of northern parts of the province receiving heavy rain — however eThekwini said it had put its disaster management teams on high alert to be able to respond with speed if and when the need arose.
The service has trod carefully thus far in not calling on South Africans to batten down the hatches, as this type of weather can be highly unpredictable.
The municipality echoed these sentiments, appealing to people not to be alarmed — but to be vigilant as the city “is prone to jaw-dropping calamities” during the summer season.
– TimesLIVE