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KZN flood death toll rises

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The death toll due to floods that caused havoc in KwaZulu-Natal has risen to 32. The worst affected areas include Chatsworth in the south of Durban and Pinetown west of Durban. The extent of damage to infrastructure includes flooded and blocked roads and collapsed buildings.

Dozens have been seriously injured and many remain missing.

KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, says that the death toll does not include all areas in KZN.

“The total number that we have is now standing at 32. It doesn’t include other areas. This is Chatsworth, Marianhill, New Germany, Pinetown areas, Shallcross as well as Umlazi. Those are the numbers for those areas.”

The Weather Service has issued a warning that more rains are expected across the already drenched province later on Monday.

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc.

Displaced people will be temporarily accommodated in community halls where they will receive emergency relief assistance.

Dube-Ncube says disaster management teams are assisting people.

“We are also having predictions from South African Weather Services that in the afternoon the rains will come back and we are expecting about 60% rains. At the moment we are standing at about 300 mm of rains. We have a lot of walls that collapsed; a lot of banks have also collapsed causing other houses as well to collapse. We have the Roads Department, Human Settlements Department, Metro Police, SAPS and all Emergency Services have been activated. They are all on the ground.”

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