Africa-Press – South-Africa. Heavy downpours left a trail of destruction in KwaZulu-Natal as disaster management teams worked throughout the night to respond to various incidents.
Several families were reportedly trapped in their homes, while some experienced severe flooding, which destroyed their properties.
Thobeka Shabalala, who lives in Newtown, Inanda, north of Durban, said she heard a loud bang in the middle of the night. When she woke up, she saw her home was flooded.
ROLLING COVERAGE |
KZN hit by serious flooding
“I have a six-month-old baby and we rushed to push open the door because it was blocked. We have lost everything and it is only through the grace of God that we managed to get out,” she said.
Shabalala said they lost everything.
“We desperately need help with accommodation, we have no roof over our heads and we haven’t eaten anything,” she said.
Shabalala, who lives with her 60-year old mother, said the experience was traumatic.
Nokothula Mbima, who lives in Molweni, north-west of Durban, said they lost their home.
“The weather has escalated and, where we stay, we have a number of people who have died. There was a landslide that has taken away everything. People are desperate and I managed to leave with only the clothes on my back,” she said.
Durban teams ‘overwhelmed’ by number of emergency calls
Emergency call centre operators were “overwhelmed” by the number of calls for help as heavy rain and flooding battered the area on Monday night.
At a media briefing on Tuesday morning, the mayor of eThekwini, Mxolisi Kaunda, said municipality officials were unable to respond to all the calls.
Durban is one of the worst-affected areas in the province, which has experienced significant rainfall since Friday.
Highways were flooded and a number of tankers and trucks washed away.
An Orange Level 8 warning was issued for parts of the province on Tuesday – and rescue teams are on high alert to rescue people stuck on roofs and buried under collapsed houses.
Meanwhile, the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said R85 million has been set aside for the KZN Social Relief of Distress programme.
It said hot meals would be provided for members of the public in community halls, which comprise breakfast packs, lunch, dinner, blankets and mattresses.
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