ECONOMIC activity in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has ground to a halt after torrential rains left a trail of billions of rands in infrastructure damage and threw supply chains into disarray.
At least 300mm of rainfall bucketed down into KZN over the last two days and washed away major logistics routes such as the N2 highway and damaged warehouses in business hubs, especially in Prospecton south of Durban.
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) yesterday announced that flooding resulted in the closure of access to the Durban Port via road.
Sanral’s eastern region design and construction manager Ravi Ronny said some sections of the N3 were also partially closed due to the upgrades, and the floods had exacerbated the situation on the network.
“Bayhead Road which provides access to the port is completely closed due to heavy rains and flooding. Engineers are on the ground assessing the situation and providing guidance on mobility around the network,” Ronny said.
“We appeal to all motorists and especially freight transport not to leave their destinations to try and come to Durban Port. There is no access to the port. We are working with emergency services to get the road network reopened.”
This infrastructure damage comes less than 10 months after KZN and Gauteng, South Africa’s busiest economic hubs, experienced more than R50 billion economic fallout after businesses were looted and damaged during the riots in July 2021.
Transnet confirmed that the disruptive weather conditions also adversely affected its operations as heavy rains have damaged the road infrastructure leading into the Port of Durban, affecting access into the terminals.
Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said operations across the Durban Terminals had to be suspended as a precautionary measure and for safety reasons.
“There have been no major incidents reported at the terminals thus far. Shipping has been suspended until further notice as a result of environmental damage caused by the adverse weather, and vessels on berth are on standby.
“In Richards Bay, the terminals are operating at limited capacity, with challenges experienced in handling wet cargo. Rail lines in certain parts of the province are operating at limited capacity as a result of flooding.”
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is preparing to declare some parts of KZN a disaster area, especially townships and industrial areas around Durban.
The SA National Defence Force is preparing to assist in the efforts toward the aid with the floods in KZN.
The heavy rains in KZN also left people trapped at their workplaces and some stranded on the roads with no access to services, while the province was experiencing power and water cuts as infrastructure was torn by floods.
MTN said the damage and power outages resulted in more than 500 of its sites going down in the region.
Jacqui O’Sullivan, MTN SA’s executive for corporate affairs, said the major areas impacted included Durban South, South Coast, Umlazi, Malagazi, Amanzimtoti, Ballito and Salt Rock among other areas.
“The flooding in the KZN region has caused power outages at many of our sites and while we have battery back-up at many of the sites, these batteries have been depleted,” she said.
“Our major challenge right now is gaining access to the sites with many roads being damaged or flooded, preventing us from refuelling our batteries or restoring power to the site.”
Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said more than 400 network towers had been impacted due to disruptions to electricity supply in the north to the south coast of Durban.
“Areas from Ballito to Amanzimtoti, in the south, are currently experiencing intermittent mobile services. Some fibre infrastructure is also affected due to water-logged fibre ducts,“ Kennedy said.
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