Traffic officers close off various roads in Newcastle, due to flooding

After days of continuous rainfall, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal is once again dealing with flooding. This has now resulted in traffic officials closing off various roads in the CBD.

Due to the flooding, parts of Kirkland Street, Sutherland Street, Voortrekker Street and Ayliff Street have been closed off to motorists. Bridger Street, which runs off Kirkland Street, and Finnemore Street in Paradise have also been blocked. Additionally, the road running past Amcor Dam has also been closed.

With further rain predicted for Newcastle, traffic officials are urging Newcastle residents to abide by the traffic regulations and not attempt to drive their vehicles where danger tape has been placed to close off the roads.

Furthermore, the Newcastle Municipality issued a notice on Thursday, 16 February 2023, stating that disaster management teams within Newcastle and KZN were still on high alert and monitoring the current weather conditions.

Adding to this, the MEC for the KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Bongi Sithole-Moloi pointed out that six people have died due to the weather conditions so far.

These deaths are as follows:

• Nokulunga Mchunu and Thulani Mabaso, both from Dannhauser.
• Thobile Innocentia Hadebe fro, eNdumeni (Dundee)
• Skhulile Msweli from Mtubatuba
• Lindani Dlamini in Jozini
• And an infant from Newcastle.

Sithole-Moloi underlined, “We cannot emphasise enough the need for communities to remain on high alert during this time in order to prevent further loss of lives and damage to property. We continue to plead with everyone to take the weather-related warnings seriously and exercise the necessary precautions as follows:

• Do not try to cross flooded rivers, whether by car or on foot.
• Stay away from riverbanks.
• To those with homes along riverbanks, do not wait for the river to overflow before seeking safer shelter.
• Do not drive when it is not safe to do so, rather wait for the rain to subside before continuing with your travel.
• Waterproof your yard by making channels for the water to pass through.

As Newcastle residents are urged to be cautious during this time, what are your thoughts?