The death toll cause by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal now stands at 443 with 63 people still reported missing. More than 13 000 homes were affected by the heavy rain. Sihle Zikalala, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal announced that rescue efforts were underway as the rain had slowed down. The floods were among the worst to hit the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
“The loss of life, destruction of homes, the damage to physical structure, the demolition of public buildings, and the consequent damage to services combined to make this natural disaster one of the worst ever in recorded history of our province. We suspect the human toll and damage surpasses the 1987 floods, which engulfed this part of the world,” said Zikalala.
Also read: FF Plus demands intervention in Middelburg crisis
Zikalala said the rescue teams received 38 call-outs on Sunday morning where six more bodies were recovered. One of the rescue workers died while on a rescue mission in Henley Dam. The rescue worker was rushed to hospital but was declared deceased. The rescue workers still pushed on even after one of their members had died. The mission is still on to find the missing people.
While the total amount of damage and destruction on roads and infrastructure caused by the floods is still being calculated, Zikalala estimates that it could be around 5.6 billion. Zikalala said the Department of Human Settlements made R1 billion available to assist the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Zikalala said 13 556 homes were affected, with 8329 houses partially damaged and 3937 completely destroyed by the floods.
Source: News24, Times Live, image from
