Saturday 24 March 2007
Apology
I have just heard - from Canada - that that the ship that capsized in Durban Harbour is NOT a result of Monday's storm my correspondent sent them to me in the belief that they were. I have left them in as they are dramatic photos.
Friday 23 March 2007
I am so sad!
The following photos arrived just now. They make me so sad. Ballito is a beautiful town some 120 kms north or where I lived. I visited it regularly when I lived in Amanzimtoti. The devastation shows that the R2billion could be easily reached. What I worry about is the devastation that MUST have been visited upon the poorer communitoes in this area.
Cry My Beloved KwaZulu Natal.
Cry My Beloved KwaZulu Natal.
Storms over KwaZulu Natal
Overnight on Sunday 18th / Monday 19th March 2007 monstrous waves ranging between 5 and 9 metres high pounded the coast of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.
The waves were apparently the result of the conjunction of a major storm some 700 kms off the South African Coast and the spring tides accompanying the vernal eqinox and high tides caused by the full moon. An expert stated that: "Some mention has also been made of the nodal tidal signal (which occurs every 18.6 years) and this could be a contributing factor." However, the cyclical alignment of the Earth, Sun and moon, were not nearly as significant as the storm induced surge that created the monster waves.
This isn't the first time that the Coast of KZN has been battered by storms. This one was, however, believed to be more extensive. Initial estimates of damage, that stretched from Richards Bay in the north to the South Coast of Natal, were put at around R500million but some sources are now claiming over R2billion
The only accurate figures will eventually be disclosed by the Insurance Companies that have to pay for the damage. These companies are backed by Re-Insurers, mainly in Europe but partly in America.
Much of the damage, forecast in a publication from the Swiss Re Insurance Co in about 1987, was caused by the de-forestation of river bank riverine vegetation, that caused the silting up, and thus the raising, of river beds. Much damage was caused by the breaching of the banks of these rivers by the water surges.
The insurance companies will not take into consideration the damage suffered by those who are unable to insure: the poor people who occupy the rural areas and the squatter camps near the towns. These people will have lost all their possessions. I have no knowledge of the loss of life that has occurred. No doubt this will emerge soon.
The International Committee of the Red Cross will no doubt have already started their aid capaign. I take my hat of to them and other organisations that will be giving generously.
According to reports, entire communities of the poor are now suffering in the inclement weather that has followed the storm. As Business, alarmed at the damage immediately prior to the annual Easter Trek to the Coast from the hinterland, gear themselves up to the masive clean up required, those communities face the onset of winter with even less that they had before.
Let us hope that the international comunities and those people who, for instance, organised "Comic Relief, ostensibly to help the poor in Africa, will rally to the cause. There has, it seems, been a defening silence from the news media in Europe and the United Kingdom.
To me it seems shameful that an area that once referred to itself as "The Last Outpost of the British Empire" is being ignored.
We will see, what we will see.
The waves were apparently the result of the conjunction of a major storm some 700 kms off the South African Coast and the spring tides accompanying the vernal eqinox and high tides caused by the full moon. An expert stated that: "Some mention has also been made of the nodal tidal signal (which occurs every 18.6 years) and this could be a contributing factor." However, the cyclical alignment of the Earth, Sun and moon, were not nearly as significant as the storm induced surge that created the monster waves.
This isn't the first time that the Coast of KZN has been battered by storms. This one was, however, believed to be more extensive. Initial estimates of damage, that stretched from Richards Bay in the north to the South Coast of Natal, were put at around R500million but some sources are now claiming over R2billion
The only accurate figures will eventually be disclosed by the Insurance Companies that have to pay for the damage. These companies are backed by Re-Insurers, mainly in Europe but partly in America.
Much of the damage, forecast in a publication from the Swiss Re Insurance Co in about 1987, was caused by the de-forestation of river bank riverine vegetation, that caused the silting up, and thus the raising, of river beds. Much damage was caused by the breaching of the banks of these rivers by the water surges.
The insurance companies will not take into consideration the damage suffered by those who are unable to insure: the poor people who occupy the rural areas and the squatter camps near the towns. These people will have lost all their possessions. I have no knowledge of the loss of life that has occurred. No doubt this will emerge soon.
The International Committee of the Red Cross will no doubt have already started their aid capaign. I take my hat of to them and other organisations that will be giving generously.
According to reports, entire communities of the poor are now suffering in the inclement weather that has followed the storm. As Business, alarmed at the damage immediately prior to the annual Easter Trek to the Coast from the hinterland, gear themselves up to the masive clean up required, those communities face the onset of winter with even less that they had before.
Let us hope that the international comunities and those people who, for instance, organised "Comic Relief, ostensibly to help the poor in Africa, will rally to the cause. There has, it seems, been a defening silence from the news media in Europe and the United Kingdom.
To me it seems shameful that an area that once referred to itself as "The Last Outpost of the British Empire" is being ignored.
We will see, what we will see.
Thursday 22 March 2007
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