At least 59 people died as a result of the floods Affecting the east coast of South Africa, which has been battered for several days by heavy rains that have also caused power outages and blocked many roads, authorities said Tuesday.
In the city of Durbanthe largest in the province of Kwazulu-Natal (east), 45 people died, and “at least 14” in the adjoining district of Ilembedeclared the provincial authorities in a statement.
President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented a “tragic balance” and announced in a statement that he would travel to the area this Wednesday, the AFP agency reported.
Rescue and evacuation operations are underway and Garrith Jamieson, one of the rescuers, told the agency AFP: “It’s an absolute nightmare, lots of mudslides, casualties and collapsed buildings.
Besides power outages and blockages on various routesin the popular beaches of Durban, in the Indian Ocean, rubble, branches and plastic bottles were piled up.
In a secondary school in Durban, students and teachers spent several hours in lockdown, while in total there are 140 schools affected.
More than 2,000 houses and 4,000 informal dwellings were damaged due to torrential rains, declared Sihle Zikalala, governor of the province, during a press conference broadcast on television.
#KZNFloods: We are deeply saddened by the growing number of fatalities in KwaZulu- Natal due to the recent floods.
The shocking pictures & videos from KZN highlight that weather extremes are increasing in many parts of South Africa and are a reminder of the climate crisis. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/miTZxkVsgv
— Centre for Green Economy (@afrigreen_)
April 12, 2022
The authorities asked the inhabitants of the area to avoid displacement and they asked the residents of the high areas to receive their neighbors affected by the inclement weather, according to what was published Tel.
In 2019, floods in the region left 70 dead.