EMdloti

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eMdloti
Umdloti
Umdloti, KwaZulu-Natal.jpg
Entrance to eMdloti/Umdloti
South Africa KwaZulu-Natal location map.svg
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eMdloti
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eMdloti
Coordinates: 29°40′S31°07′E / 29.667°S 31.117°E / -29.667; 31.117
Country South Africa
Province KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality eThekwini
Area
[1]
 • Total1.59 km2 (0.61 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
 • Total1,778
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 •  Black African 12.3%
 •  Coloured 2.2%
 •  Indian/Asian 8.5%
 •  White 76.7%
 • Other0.3%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 •  English 72.7%
 •  Afrikaans 14.3%
 •  Zulu 7.1%
 •  Xhosa 1.7%
 • Other4.2%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Beach at eMdloti Umdloti (beach), KwaZulu-Natal.jpg
Beach at eMdloti

eMdloti, alternatively rendered Umdloti and also known as Umdloti Beach, is a small resort village situated along the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, South Africa. It lies at the mouth of the Mdloti River approximately 24 km north-east (14,9 mi) of Durban and 11 km (6.8 mi) north-east of uMhlanga and now forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolitan Municipality. [2]

Contents

The name Mdloti is the Zulu word for a species of wild tobacco that grows here.

Spelling change

In November 2009, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality submitted a list of places in the municipality to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Geographic Names Committee to be changed from their anglicised names to the correct Zulu spelling. In the list, the village "Umdloti" was to be changed to "eMdloti" which meant the uppercase "U" would fall away and be replaced by a lowercase "e" and the Umdloti River was to be changed to "uMdloti River" which meant the '"U" in the spelling would change from an uppercase to a lowercase. [3]

On 1 October 2010, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture gazette the list of approved name changes which included the village of Umdloti and the Umdloti River. [4] Ever since the name change, the South African National Roads Agency Ltd. (SANRAL) has changed the road signs on the N2 highway leading to and at the M27 Jabu Ngcobo Drive interchange and many news agencies like The Mercury and Northglen News use the spelling "eMdloti", however there are still several road signs that still remain with the spelling "Umdloti" and many Durbanites and residents and businesses of eMdloti still spell the town with its previous spelling. [5] [6]

Geography

eMdloti lies on a large ancient and mature sand-dune, dividing it into two parts, an upper and lower area on the coastline.

The coastal village is bordered by the uMdloti River to the north, the Sibaya Coastal Forest Reserve to the south and the M4 freeway to the west. It is neighboured directly to the north by La Mercy, situated on the northern bank of the uMdloti River. Notable surrounding communities are uMhlanga and Mount Edgecombe to the south-west as well as Waterloo and Verulam to the west.

The Sibaya Coastal Forest Reserve, bordering eMdloti to the south, insulates it from the sprawl of uMhlanga and today it still remains a pristine seaside resort.

Lifestyle

eMdloti, although still a small, peaceful town is situated ten kilometers north of uMhlanga Rocks. It has two commercial centres, a post office and several restaurants. A natural rock pool by the beach creates a safe swimming area.

eMdloti has a permanent population of around 3,000 people but can increase by as much as tenfold during the Christmas and Easter holiday season. Due to eMdloti's single access road (M27) from the M4/N2 interchanges, the topography, the fact that North and South Beach Roads are both cul-de-sacs and limited public parking, the repercussions of the seasonal holidaymaker influx results in traffic congestion and frequent gridlock, mainly at year-end.

eMdloti is famous for dolphins that swim very close to the beach early morning and July to November is a good time for whale watching when whales are often spotted from the beach.

eMdloti's real estate consists of full title, free-standing homes, mainly on the South Beach and sectional title apartments, located mostly on North Beach. Much of the latter is owned by non-residents as holiday homes or rental properties.

Developments

The Sibaya Coastal Precinct development is situated above eMdloti, to the west of the village and is spearheaded by Tongaat Hulett Developments. The land which was previously part of a sugarcane plantation known as Bellamont Estate is now being developed as a mixed-use development node consisting of luxury apartments, offices, retail space and residences. [7]

Part of the development, is the well-established Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom, owned by Sun International, one of South Africa's largest resort hotel and casino chain and is located to the south-west of eMdloti. [8]

Infrastructure

Roads

eMdloti is accessed by a single road, the M27 also named Jabu Ngcobo Drive which starts at the traffic circle on South Beach heading west towards Verulam. It is also accessible from both the N2 (to Durban and King Shaka International Airport) and the alternative M4 (to uMhlanga and Ballito), with the M27 providing access to both freeways.

2022 floods

During April 2022, an unusual amount of heavy rainfall struck caused by the La Niña effect struck the eThekwini/Dolphin Coast/Ndwedwe/Umdoni Coast region and eMdloti was one of the worst effect areas of the deadly natural disaster. Several apartment buildings and residences in eMdloti were damaged due to landslides that occurred in the area as a result of the heavy rainfall. [9]

This was largely due to two factors, the geographical location of eMdloti and the neighbouring Salta Sibaya development. eMdloti is located on ancient high/steep sand dunes which have a high clay component therefore making the area susceptible to mass movements like solifluction or landslides. [10] At the same time, residents allegedly claimed the neighbouring development of Salta Sibaya part of the greater Sibaya Coastal development which sits on top of the dune/hill is to blame for the extensive damage occurred in eMdloti during heavy rainfalls. [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Umdloti". Census 2011.
  2. ↑ "About Us - Find out about Umhlanga Rocks Tourism". Umhlanga Rocks Tourism. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "More name changes". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Approval of official geographic names (www.go.za)" (PDF). www.gov.za. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. ↑ shirazhabbib (11 April 2022). "WATCH: Heavy rains cause mudslide and flooding of homes in eMdloti". Northglen News. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Naidoo, Mervyn. "'Metro caved in to pressure to withdraw report on causes of eMdloti mudslides'". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Sibaya Coastal Precinct - A Tongaat Hulett Property". Sibaya Coastal Precinct. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Sibaya Casino in Durban | Sun International Casinos". Hotels, Gaming and Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Erasmus, Des (22 May 2022). "KZN FLOODS, ROUND TWO: Umdloti flats collapse — 'At first it sounded like thunder, but then…'". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Old sand dunes one reason of Umdloti damage – expert". ECR. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  11. ↑ jamesanderson (25 May 2022). "Furious Umdloti residents protest against alleged negligence [Watch]". North Coast Courier. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
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