The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has placed teams on standby and various sectors of government are co-ordinating plans ahead of expected snowfall next week.
This comes after hundreds of motorists were stranded during an unprecedented snow storm last weekend that resulted in one death.
Concerns were raised that the government was not adequately prepared to respond to last week’s incident and more needed to be done to mitigate the impact of such extreme weather events.
SA Weather Service forecaster Siphesihle Dlamini said snow was predicted to fall on Monday into Tuesday over the extreme western parts of KZN.
Rain has also been forecast. “For Monday, we have a 60% chance of showers and rain across the province, but on Tuesday, we only have 30%,” he said.
Dlamini said temperatures will drop on Monday with some areas reaching a maximum of 10°C.
“Moving into Tuesday the temperatures will improve in those areas and the maximum temperatures should be between 12-15°C,” he said.
Dlamini said the weather bureau would know more by the weekend. On Thursday, KZN Transport MEC Siboniso Duma said dedicated teams had been placed on standby.
Duma said the Road Incident Management Systems (RIMS) led by the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) were already coordinating a plan.
“They are identifying areas where joint operations and co-ordination will be established, covering all notorious roads and areas identified in the past experiences,” he said.
Ladysmith, Underberg, Drakensberg and Giant’s Castle among other highground areas, will be affected.
Duma said the department's Road traffic Inspectorate was establishing a satellite centre on top of the Van Reenen’s Pass.
“It will ensure quick action and road closure to mitigate against people getting trapped in snow,” said the MEC.
Duma said the Road Safety and Traffic Inspectorate were also already involved in the co-ordination of possible road closures and observation of major routes in consultation with N3 Toll Concession.
“The focus is on N3 between Harrismith, Tugela Toll, R617 between Kokstad and Underberg, N2 Ingeli and N3 Mooi River, and others.”
He said the team will also be responsible for escorting trucks and vehicles to ensure that there was no congestion on the roads. However, Duma urged motorists to reschedule or postpone their journeys in anticipation of any eventuality.
The MEC said graders would be deployed.
“More than 10 graders will be stationed in identified routes to ensure that our response is faster,” said Duma, adding that the province has 21 graders.
Duma stated that the department has started engaging with key stakeholders including the road freight, taxi and bus industries to ensure a collaborative approach to avoid any crisis and ensure the safety of road users.
The MEC said the department had developed a clear plan on how to roll out educational and public awareness programmes involving all communities, sectors of society, and leaders irrespective of political affiliation.
KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, said the Provincial Disaster Management Centre was engaging stakeholders to ensure plans are in place to handle any weather eventuality.
He said some areas around the Drakensberg, including the Harry Gwala, uThukela, uMgungundlovu, and Amajuba Districts will be affected.
The N3 Toll Concession said it was keeping a close eye on weather reports.
“Motorists are warned that parts of the N3 Toll Route are prone to rapidly changing weather, including freezing temperatures, sleet, snow, thunderstorms ...”
The Mercury