A grandmother and her grandson have been killed in the torrential downpour which caused destruction in Durban and surrounding areas.
The deaths bring to 10 the number of people who have died in rain and storms in the province since Friday night.
Ncamsile Zungu and her grandson Selu, from Zwelisha in Verulam, north of Durban, were asleep in their informal dwelling on Saturday night when it collapsed on top of them.
#sabcnews Two people have died in the Zwelisha area outside Verulam north of Durban when their home collapsed on them due to last night heavy rains. pic.twitter.com/MsZi91tRYw
— Nonkululeko Hlophe (@Leko3) January 14, 2024
Rescue teams are also searching for two victims in nearby oThongathi. This was after a heavy downpour in the city which left a trail of destruction in Durban and surrounding areas, north of the City.
Roads were flooded and bridges and property were damaged.
In uMmhlanga Rocks, mudslides occurred and cars were submerged in a parking area beneath a block of flats.
The ward councilor of Umhlanga in eThekwini Municipality Nicole Bollman says the area has seen a substantial amount of damage from heavy rains that lashed the north of Durban overnight.
Several roads have been closed due to flooding and there are reports of collapsed walls and extensive property damage.
Bollman says the area is also experiencing electricity outages as a result of last night’s storm.
“In Umhlanga itself, we’ve seen a substantial amount of landslides- there’s been quite a substantial amount of soil that’s been dislodged from underneath the road- causing the collapse of the road and infrastructure. So, what we’re seeing is a mass outage of electricity, we’re seeing water disruptions, and also La Lucia, we’re seeing a substantial amount of damage- sinkholes are prevalent in this area- and then in La Lucia, we had about 10-12- houses that had to be evacuated last night, because the houses were completely flooded. We were spared the last time that we had the floods – this time we didn’t get off so easily in the ward unfortunately.”
On Saturday afternoon in Ladysmith, three victims were found dead in a car which was recovered under a bridge on the N11. While in Dundee on Friday night, a man died after his vehicle was washed away.
In Umzimkulu, also on Friday night, two occupants of a car were found dead after their car was swept away by flood water.
