Overnight rains wreak havoc in Durban

Heavy rains have wreaked havoc in Merebank, south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Councillor Ebrahim Shaik says the community will assess the full extent of the damage this morning. He says he has been dealing with calls from Merebank residents since last night, complaining about major damage to their houses.

He says a meeting will be held with the municipality, residents and the owners of factories in the area. "The area near the race-course was completely submerged. The rains started at about 11pm last night. The flooding was due to poor drainage of the sewers in the area," said police spokesperson Deveneran Pillay, a resident in the area.

"People were helping each other - breaking walls to get people out of houses. The water levels were up to 1.8m. Cars were floating and completely submerged," he said. Pillay said despite numerous efforts emergency services could not be reached.

"No one picked up their phone lines - we tried to contact emergency services and disaster management and no one came out." Pillay said people were awake in the early hours of Wednesday assisting one another.

"Its a disaster - a total disaster...pre-cast walls have fallen down and there is not one official to help these people." Pillay said they had tried to contact the ward councillor for the area, but no one was available.

Rains also flooded the out-patients department, pharmacy and the surgical stores at Prince Mshiyeni hospital at Umlazi.

Patients were housed housed at a shelter for a few hiurs, while the flooded areas were being cleared. – Additional reporting by Sapa