Torrential downpours have been forecast for KwaZulu-Natal this week‚ putting emergency service and disaster management teams on high alert.

Teams were braced for Tropical Storm Dineo last week‚ but their assistance was not needed.

“We are not going to take any chances. We are pulling out all the stops to prevent loss of life and damage to property. We would like to assure our citizens that disaster management teams are ready to respond‚” said KZN Cooperative governance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

She urged residents to be alert and not take any risks in the storms.

The SA Weather Service has issued a warning of “heavy rain leading to flooding” in large parts of KwaZulu-Natal for Tuesday.

But amid the warnings comes drought relief.

“The department has likewise noted that the rains are a welcome relief to a province that has been on the receiving end of a devastating drought. We do welcome these rains because our dam levels are very low. The majority are below 50%. What is worrying us the most is that we are now approaching the winter season which is notorious for insufficient rain in our catchment areas. The water we have in our system will not last until the next rainy season‚” said Dube-Ncube.