The government has been challenged to be better prepared for extreme weather conditions after hundreds of motorists were stranded amid unprecedented heavy snowfall in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.
Some motorists were stuck on the N3 in the snow for up to two days while one person who had been travelling in a taxi collapsed and died from hypothermia.
Climate expert Professor Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine(LSHTM), said there were gaps in the country’s early warning systems.
Mabhaudhi said one of the issues was the dissemination of information in affected areas and to vulnerable people, and in advising the public on the appropriate action to be taken.
He said the SA Weather Service had issued an Orange Level 6 warning for heavy snowfall on September 18 and various levels of government were alerted, but people located in the risk areas might not have received this information or did not receive it on time.
“They don’t have information stating when exactly this is going to happen, how you should make your plans, if you should stay home or how you should respond,” he said.
Mabhaudhi said the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the N3 Toll Concession should have informed motorists about the situation for better planning.
“A lot of people did not have that information, so they went about their business normally and when it started snowing, initially there was excitement because people did not have an understanding of how much snow there was going to be,” he said, adding that such gaps resulted in people being caught unaware.
In terms of disaster management, Mabhaudhi said some of the extremes in weather were unprecedented and therefore officials were inadequately prepared.
“They would have seen the warning but in terms of what effective response mechanisms should be put in place for heavy snowfall, what machinery and what resources we need to deploy, that would not have occurred almost immediately.”
Mabhaudhi said capacities and competencies still needed to be built to close these gaps, and to provide proactive disaster management funding.
In a Facebook post, Ukhozi FM traffic anchor Ayanda Msweli, said proper planning meetings were not held to prepare for the snow storm following the early warnings that were issued.
Msweli said a “snow protocol” should have been activated and discussions had about the challenges that motorists would encounter on roads like the N3.
He said municipalities didn’t have the resources, manpower and budget to deal with such weather conditions.
Msweli called for graders and cars with “snow chains” to be ready to assist as soon as early warnings were issued, and for the government to build warehouses in strategic areas to store supplies needed for such emergencies.
On Monday, KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi, said the impact of climate change was forcing the government to factor it into planning and budgeting, and to find innovative ways to create early warning systems.
He said the recent fires in the province had come unexpectedly and the snow storm had occurred when the province was expecting rain.
Buthelezi said while early warnings were issued and some people had heeded the warning, government should have acted earlier to close the affected roads.
“No one could have predicted the extent of the snow and the extent of the damage which was going to happen, but it is clear now that we have learnt lessons coming out of this very tragic, uncomfortable episode where people were stuck on the road.
“I think it’s a wake-up call to us as government and surely as the provincial government, we will be leading the way now to ensure that we co-ordinate all future responses for such a catastrophe,” said Buthelezi.
The MEC said a more co-ordinated approach was needed from the national and provincial government together with the N3 Toll Concession, Sanral and municipalities.
“The type of disaster that befell us as the province of KwaZulu-Natal is unprecedented, and therefore, in terms of communication and in terms of co-ordination, I think we need to be more responsive, more innovative going forward.”
The Mercury