Three beaches on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast will be closed to the public from Saturday as a precautionary measure due to tropical storm Cheneso.
KwaDukuza municipal spokesperson Sipho Mkhize said Blythedale Beach, Thompson’s Bay and Clarke Bay would be closed until further notice.
“The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Maritime Centre of Excellence (KZNSB) has been tracking the movement of cyclone Cheneso. While the cyclone is moving in a south-easterly direction we are expecting the swell size to increase.
“The municipality, in consultation with KZNSB, has therefore taken a precautionary measure to ban bathing at some of its beaches from Saturday morning until further notice,” he said.
On Friday the South African Weather Service said the severe tropical storm was active in the Mozambique Channel.
“The latest numeric weather prediction (NWP) models, as well as guidance from the Regional Specialist Meteorological Centre (RSMC) at La Reunion Island, suggest Cheneso will continue to move slowly south-westwards today. Given that Cheneso is currently classified as a severe tropical storm, sustained winds around the core, or vortex, of the system can be expected to be fairly damaging, of the order of 89 to 118km/h.
“Very rough seas, in the region of four to six metres can also be expected in the vicinity of the system. By Saturday, Cheneso is expected to adopt a more southerly track, passing close to Europa Island. It is also expected that Cheneso will, at least temporarily, intensify to a 'tropical cyclone', with sustained winds of 118-166 km/h,” it said.
It said the system was not expected to directly affect South Africa.
TimesLIVE
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