These are the KZN municipalities that face an upgraded Orange Level 6 rain warning

These are the KZN municipalities that face an upgraded Orange Level 6 rain warning. News South AfricaThese are the KZN municipalities that face an upgraded Orange Level 6 rain warningYasmine Jacobs|Published 15 minutes agoAsk AI 2minAn orange Level 6 disruptive-rain warning was issued for KZN.

What happened

SAWS has upgraded its disruptive-rain warning for parts of KwaZulu-Natal to Orange Level 6, with 50mm to 150mm of rain forecast from Thursday afternoon to Friday night. Image: FileThe South African Weather Service (SAWS) has escalated its weather alert for parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), upgrading an initial Level 4 disruptive rain warning to an orange Level 6 warning as weather conditions intensify along the south coast and adjacent interior. The updated Level 6 warning, issued at 11am on Wednesday, warns of 50mm to 150mm of rain that carries a high likelihood of alarming impacts between Thursday afternoon and Friday night.

These are the nine key metro and municipal areas that are directly targeted by the upgraded Level 6 warning:EthekwiniKwaDukuzaMandeniMaphumuloMkhambathiniNdwedweRay NkonyeniUmdoniUmzumbeExpected severe impacts under Level 6 include: flooding of roads, bridges, and settlements (both formal and informal), danger to life from fast-flowing streams and deep waters, major disruption of traffic flow caused by flooded roads, disruption to essential services, including water, electricity, and communication networks and structural damage to mud-based houses. Escalation from initial Level 4 warningThe updated alert represents an alarming escalation from the Level 4 disruptive rain warning issued by SAWS.

While the Level 4 alert highlighted general risks of traffic disruptions, property damage, livestock loss, community displacement, and sinkhole hazards across southern KZN, updated forecasts indicating concentrated rainfall of 50–150 mm prompted weather forecasters to elevate the severity level to Level 6 for core coastal and adjacent interior districts while shifting the start time to 12:00 on Thursday. The Level 6 alert comes into effect on Thursday at 12pm and remains valid until September 18 at 23:59.

The wider picture

The original Level 4 alert anticipated a medium likelihood of impacts starting earlier, from 00:00 on Thursday through to Friday, September 18. It covered a broader region across 24 municipalities, including inland and southern districts such as Dr N. WarningSAWS warned that heavy downpours may lead to flooding of roads, low-lying bridges, and residential areas (including informal settlements), fast-flowing streams and deep-water hazards that pose a threat to life, localised damage to property, municipal infrastructure, and livestock and temporary disruption of essential services and access to isolated communities.

Safety advice for residentsSAWS and eThekwini Municipality have urged residents in affected areas to take the following precautions:Avoid crossing rivers or swollen streams where water levels rise above ankle height. In buildings, move valuables to safe locations above expected flood levels and switch off electricity at the main supply point. According to SAWS, the severe weather is driven by a strong ridging high-pressure system and a low-pressure system along the KZN coast, coupled with a steep upper-air trough and cut-off low over the western interior.

This combination is expected to produce scattered to widespread showers across the province, with concentrated downpours along the south coast and adjacent interior. Dlamini-Zuma – Underberg, Greater Kokstad, Impendle, Ingwe, Mpofana (Giants Castle and Mooi River), Richmond, The Msunduzi, Ubuhlebezwe, uMlalazi, uMngeni, uMshwathi, UMuziwabantu, Umvoti, and Umzimkhulu.

What has been reported

The eThekwini Municipality reassures residents that operational teams, including Fire, Disaster Management and Metro Police Directorates, are fully mobilised. Municipal crews will continuously monitor high-risk zones, waterways, and infrastructure historically vulnerable to flooding. If trapped in a vehicle during a flood, abandon the vehicle immediately and climb to higher ground. In rural areas, relocate livestock and animals to safe, higher ground. Travel precautions: Avoid travelling across low-lying bridges and roads susceptible to flooding or sinkholes.

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