More than 1000 people have been displaced after nearly 500 structures were burnt in the Dakota informal settlement in Isiphingo Beach, near Durban on Saturday night. No injuries have been reported.
The fire comes as residents of the informal settlement struggle to recover from two rounds of devastating floods. The area is on a flat plain near the beach, making it particularly susceptible to inclement weather.
A team from the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers is at the scene of the fire. Bilal Jeewa is one of them.
“We are in communication with the disaster management of eThekwini to establish where they are gonna house those that have been displaced. I have spoken to the SAPS and metro police on site as well as the firefighters. In the case of disasters, we work with the eThekwini disaster management to give them support as Gift of the Givers. We are currently on stand-by with basics such as blankets and we are waiting for them to tell us where they are gonna be housing the residents so that we can start to distribute supplies.
