For anyone living in the Natal Midlands, or to be politically correct, the KwaZulu-Natal area of South Africa, the last week of June 2007, will be remembered for many years to come. The extreme weather conditions experienced in the area, led to total devastation, to many of the residents, mostly farmers and their staff.
As if the recent strike action by all government departments, hadn't already caused enough chaos in their lives, with the closure of schools, the disruption of mid-year exams, the evacuation of hospitals, the stoppage of any maintenance work and the desire of the police and prisons department to join the strike action, Mother Nature had the last word.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were pretty hot, for this time of year and as usual, fire warnings were issued. It was normal in the dry conditions, to have several fires each day and the forestry industry in particular, are always on full alert, at this time, every year.
What was not expected, was the gale force winds, that developed and reached utterly devastating proportions. The winds started on Sunday night, but were not unusually strong. They continued throughout Monday, reaching some the highest speeds, ever recorded in the area, by Monday night. What started as normal fire warnings and alerts, soon became emergencies, as huge fires spread at terrifying speeds. Extra fire crews were brought in, to help control all these fires and just when the tired firefighters thought they had won the battle and could get some well deserved rest, the heavy winds started and transformed quiet, smouldering ashes, into raging infernos, that ran through plantations and grasslands, completely out of control. There were many stories of threatened families, burnt out houses and urgent evacuations. Thousands of Hectares were burnt out and families left destitute, particularly in the Underberg area and in the Karkloof, to Curry's Post area.
Imagine how pleased these people were, when it started raining on Tuesday. Most uncharacteristic for the month of June, those light rains, turned in to steady, harder rain, right through the night. What started as a welcome relief and the end to the fire dangers, now threatened those same people, who had been left homeless. The rainy conditions continued and the highest rainfall ever recorded in June, turned to cold and misty conditions. Farmers were now unable to repair damaged fences and buildings, animal carcasses that were caught in the fires could not be removed and their staff, were unable to find dry and warm conditions, in their fire ravaged homes.
But, Mother Nature was not finished yet. These poor people woke up, the next morning, to snowfalls. The snow continued and some of the heaviest falls in history, were recorded. It even snowed in Johannesburg, for the first time in 26 years! Many people, already left homeless, were now forced to contend with freezing conditions. All of this, in the space of only one week!
The area was declared a natural disaster and the army was called in, to assist with tent towns, feeding schemes and to facilitate the disposal of the dead animals. In one incident, eight horses were trapped by fences and a bulldozer was, through the terrible heat, unable to get close enough to help them escape. They all perished in the fire. Apparently the heat was so severe, that the deep root structure, of trees and plants and grass, was so severely affected, that it will take several years to mend.
There is no doubt, as to who is in charge, in this world and it certainly isn't man! What causes these extreme conditions and why? Well, the people of the Midlands, will be asking this question, for some time to come. From hot Summer weather, to extreme winds, to heavy Winter rainfall, to heavy snowfalls and then to bitterly cold conditions, all in one week, has really taken it's toll on the area, but fortunately no known human deaths, were reported.
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