Easter celebrations are on the way and the recent floods, especially in KwaZulu-Natal wishing to practise their religious rituals will have to be cautious as the Department of Water and Sanitation has asked people of faith to steer clear of water bodies during the coming Easter weekend.
The department said that during this holiday period people of different faiths traditionally go to rivers to perform their religious activities such as baptism among others.
“This practice has proven dangerous in most cases as the department has been alerted of incidences of drownings in the past,” said the department.
Departmental spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said that the recent downpours in some parts of the country will make it even more dangerous to conduct such religious practices as water levels in certain rivers have increased sharply.
“While we respect people’s religious beliefs, it is equally our responsibility as government to alert everyone about the danger associated with baptism in raging rivers, particularly during this period. Being religious should not lead to deaths of innocent people. The safety of everyone is our priority, therefore, we encourage everyone to find alternative ways of baptism to ensure safety”, said Ratau.
He said the current rainfall in many parts of South Africa is expected to continue and water levels in rivers and dams are equally expected to rise sharply.
He added that dams and rivers have undercurrents, and it is dangerous to step into water when one does not know the depth of the water.
“Both these unknowns are very dangerous and can cause fatal injuries, coupled with the fact that there are floating objects that cannot be seen,” said Ratau.
He added that as holiday makers flock to different directions they should enjoy themselves responsibility and avoid visiting the department’s dams under the influence of alcohol.
According to the South African Weather Service (SA Weather) with the exception of some localised heavy rainfall at times, persisting today over parts of Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal much of South Africa can expect a sunny, dry day, with daytime temperatures continuing to recover, following the spell of cloudy, cold and wet weather earlier in the week.
“Tomorrow sees an upper trough starting to develop over the south-western sector of South Africa, expected to promote isolated light showers and thundershowers over the Cape provinces. The remainder of the country is expected to remain dry, although the Lowveld of South Africa and Eswatini may see a few showers or thundershowers,” said SA Weather.
This Good Friday SA Weather said that the North West, Free State, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are likely to experience the return of thunderstorms, along with the risk of localised flooding and/or occurrences of hail and strong, damaging winds.
Saturday will see scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers persisting over the central provinces, spreading to include the eastern and north-eastern provinces, where further significant to heavy falls may occur at places, especially over North West, Free State and Gauteng.
“The South African Weather Service acknowledges the unconventional naming of the low pressure that has caused devastation over KwaZulu-Natal earlier this week. However this low pressure is not expected to cause any further impacts over the country as it is forecast to move away from South Africa,” said SA Weather.