Disaster teams on standby for Irina

KwaZulu-Natal disaster management teams have been placed on standby for the severe weather expected to hit the northern part of the province this weekend.

Even disaster management teams in Durban, some 400km south of Maputo, Mozambique, where cyclone Irina was expected to make landfall, had been placed on standby.

“Disaster teams are on high alert and ready to respond to any situation,” eThekwini spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said.

KwaZulu-Natal co-operative governance MEC Nomusa Dube said in a statement on Friday that her department - responsible for disaster management in the province - had placed disaster management teams across the province on standby. These teams would be liaising with municipalities across the province.

The SA Weather Service earlier warned the storm system would dump an “extreme” amount of rain on the region over the next two to three days. According to their press release they were predicting the cyclone would make landfall close to Inhambane and Xai-Xai, north of Maputo.

“Areas around Kosi Bay, St Lucia, and Richard's Bay can expect up to 400mm of rain over this period,” weather spokeswoman Hannelee Doubell said.

However, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) was predicting Irina would make landfall further south on Sunday.

Their prediction on Friday afternoon at 3pm was that the cyclone would strike land slightly south of the Mozambican capital city of Maputo on Sunday afternoon. It would make its way into Swaziland before dissipating, but northern KwaZulu-Natal would be affected.

The JTWC was predicting windspeed of up to a maximum 60 knots (111km/h).

Mofokeng advised people staying next to rivers to keep important documents in a safe place. Durban's fire department and metro police could be contacted on 031-361-0000.

The amount of rain expected was of an “extreme nature”, and was last experienced when tropical cyclone Domoina hit KwaZulu-Natal in 1984.

“Domoina brought between 400 and 600mm of rain over a period of two to three days,” Doubell said.

She said the system should start weakening by Tuesday.

- Sapa/IOL