The eThekwini Municipality has temporarily closed all beaches in the city. This is due to the removal of shark nets by the Sharks Board. In a statement, the municipality says the nets have been removed to prevent any unnecessary loss or damage to the equipment.
Strong winds and heavy seas associated with predicted severe weather systems are expected. The closure takes effect immediately. No bathing is currently allowed.
The bad weather conditions expected to hit various parts of KwaZulu-Natal in the coming days have started to persist in some areas in the province. The warnings prompted the KZN Sharks Board to remove all nets as rough seas could affect council equipment also endangering marine life.
The warning comes after tropical cyclone, Batsirai, hit Mauritius and Madagascar this week.
Acting head of operations at Sharks Board, Craig Thompson says they have been monitoring weather conditions from Mauritius and Madagascar.
“We are basically taking out all of the sharking gear, which is the combination of drumline and nets, plus-minus 30 km of netting and 177 drum lines and that is all recognised by beached from NRB to Port Edward. We have removed the gear and in consultation with the local authorities with the beach management and we bend binding, put up the signage and we hope to put the gear back as soon things settled or as soon as possible.”
Roshni Mehta of the Research and Product Quality in Durban Tourism under the Ethekwini Municipality, says the closure of beaches will impact negatively on tourism, but visitors can use all available tourists attractions.
“The promenade is open to walk, to cycle, to jog, and enjoy the longest promenade in Africa. We still have many more attractions people can use besides the beach, even though our beaches are the number one attraction. It is a short period of time and beyond our control, but once we are back to our shiny skies, shark nets will be put back on.”
Durban tourists were also disappointed by the sudden closure of beaches due to the removal of shark nets.
Carol Du Plessis and Jacques Van Rensburg say safety comes first.
However, Weather Forecaster, Mbavhi Maliage says this weekend’s rain is not related to the tropical cyclone Batsirai, which hit Mauritius and Madagascar this week.
She says it’s too early to determine if South Africa will be affected by the cyclone.
“For today, there are some alerts that have been issued out for rainfall. Most of this rainfall will be for the Eastern Cape, North West province, and KZN and Gauteng and Limpopo. KZN can expect widespread showers and rainfall, but mostly scattered into the northern parts with the alert expected to start this afternoon around 1-2 pm.”
Disaster Management Teams in the province are closely monitoring the early warnings.
MEDIA RELEASE: Update on Intense Tropical Cyclone Batsirai pic.twitter.com/PoY7OOsUXv
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) February 4, 2022
Cyclone Batsirai |
Southern Africa battening down the hatches as tropical cyclone approaches:
