Some homes destroyed by heavy flooding in KwaZulu-Natal have still not been repaired. Their owners claim insurance companies won’t pay until eThekwini Municipality rebuilds the damaged infrastructure, including drains and pipes also destroyed by the floods.
Flooding left a trail of damage in parts of Durban last year. Five people died and houses were destroyed.
Lindelwa Kheswa’s house is one of them. She now lives with relatives while repaying a bond.
Kheswa claims the insurance company refuses to rebuild the house until the eThekwini municipality fixes the drains and pipes which were also destroyed.
“Since the pipes burst the insurance companies said they will be willing to fix the house but can’t do that if the pipes are still above the ground. We spoke to the municipality about this but we were referred from one person to the other,” says Kheswa.
Evarad Suiker of Standard Bank Insurance says: “The municipality needs to establish exactly what the cause was from the storm water or sew line and how it’s going to prevent this kind of situation from happening in the future because the storm water line runs through the insured property.”
Some of Kheswa’s neighbours are in the same predicament.
“That white pipe is built above the ground, they built it there and said it was temporary but it’s been here for a long time. When it rains the sewage washes waste into our homes. We don’t feel safe anymore,” says Londiwe Maluleka.
The eThekwini Metro promises to investigate.
Mthunzi Gumede Ethekwini Municipality spokesperson says: “It is a known fact that insurance companies refuse to pay damages but say in the meantime the municipality will assess the damage caused. It also says it will provide shelter for some of the families. They say they will send engineers to the affected areas.”
The damage caused by the floods in the Durban area alone is close to a R1 billion.
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