FEAR has gripped communities in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal after a thunderstorm claimed the lives of two children from one family earlier this week.
Grade 12 pupil Lindo Dube and her sibling, Nhlanhla Dube, who was in Grade 4, were struck by lightning at their home in Ndwedwe, north of Durban.
Family members said the Grade 12 pupil been busy studying when tragedy struck. "We are saddened to learn of the incident," MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Nomusa Dube said yesterday about the sad Monday incident.
"Mother nature has again cast a dark shadow over us."
This incident brings to eight the number of people who have died since the beginning of summer, largely due to incidents believed to be related to the persisting bad weather.
One person was struck by lightning in Nongoma two weeks ago, while three people drowned in Nquthu and two drowned in Hluhluwe last week.
Meanwhile, the bodies of three teachers, whose car was swept away in a flooded river in Nquthu last week, have all been found.
Recent heavy rains have also taken their toll on KwaZulu-Natal roads, with eThekwini municipality accumulating a backlog of nearly 720 potholes to fix.
eThekwini head of engineering Adrian Peters said they had received reports of 153 potholes, five manholes that were washed away and 204 blocked drains over the past week.
This comes at a time when the municipality is still busy with repairs of other drains following last month's two-week spell of consistent downpours.
Last month the city announced that it had reviewed its pothole maintenance policy following the escalating number of insurance claims against the municipality arising from damages to vehicles.
This was after a Pietermaritzburg advocate, Allistair McIntosh, won R15-million in damages in 2009 after suing the provincial transport department for injuries sustained when he crashed while cycling on the P164 Rosetta-Kamberg road in 2004.
He had been avoiding a pothole when he fell. His case was first dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, but he won on appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal.
2 kids killed by lightning
FEAR has gripped communities in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal after a thunderstorm claimed the lives of two children from one family earlier this week.
Grade 12 pupil Lindo Dube and her sibling, Nhlanhla Dube, who was in Grade 4, were struck by lightning at their home in Ndwedwe, north of Durban.
Family members said the Grade 12 pupil been busy studying when tragedy struck. "We are saddened to learn of the incident," MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Nomusa Dube said yesterday about the sad Monday incident.
"Mother nature has again cast a dark shadow over us."
This incident brings to eight the number of people who have died since the beginning of summer, largely due to incidents believed to be related to the persisting bad weather.
One person was struck by lightning in Nongoma two weeks ago, while three people drowned in Nquthu and two drowned in Hluhluwe last week.
Meanwhile, the bodies of three teachers, whose car was swept away in a flooded river in Nquthu last week, have all been found.
Recent heavy rains have also taken their toll on KwaZulu-Natal roads, with eThekwini municipality accumulating a backlog of nearly 720 potholes to fix.
eThekwini head of engineering Adrian Peters said they had received reports of 153 potholes, five manholes that were washed away and 204 blocked drains over the past week.
This comes at a time when the municipality is still busy with repairs of other drains following last month's two-week spell of consistent downpours.
Last month the city announced that it had reviewed its pothole maintenance policy following the escalating number of insurance claims against the municipality arising from damages to vehicles.
This was after a Pietermaritzburg advocate, Allistair McIntosh, won R15-million in damages in 2009 after suing the provincial transport department for injuries sustained when he crashed while cycling on the P164 Rosetta-Kamberg road in 2004.
He had been avoiding a pothole when he fell. His case was first dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, but he won on appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal.
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