Around 60 people died from the floods in South Africa

About 60 people died in floods and landslides in South Africa, a country affected for several days by heavy rains on its east coast, which caused the army to intervene, local authorities reported on Tuesday.

In the city of Durban, the largest in the province of Kwazulu-Natal (eastern), 45 people died, and “at least 14″ in the neighbouring district of Ilembe, the provincial authorities said in a statement.

President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented a “tragic balance” and announced in a statement that he would travel to the area on Wednesday.

Rescue work took place throughout the day, especially in the Durban region, one of the main ports on the continent open to the Indian Ocean.

The army was deployed to provide air support during rescue efforts. In a secondary school in Durban, students and teachers spent several hours locked up. In total, there are 140 schools affected.

More than 2,000 homes and 4,000 informal homes have been damaged by torrential rains, said Sihle Zikalala, governor of the province, during a press conference broadcast on television.

“It's a nightmare, rivers of mud, victims, destroyed buildings...” , quoted Garrith Jamieson, who is part of the rescue teams.

The rains will continue

These heavy rains hit hard the slums of Duran, made up of poor quality housing built on flooded land.

“Floods are the result of poor planning and the poor and vulnerable people are the most affected,” lamented urban planning expert at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu.

The rains, which have not yet stopped, also caused major power cuts, affected water supply and blocked roads.

Rubble, branches, plastic bottles, and even the tank of a tanker were piling up on the touristy beaches of Durban, an AFP photographer found on the ground.

“Many people died,” Durban Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda told reporters. “It seems that the cemeteries were also flooded,” he added. A photo that went viral on social media showed a human skull unearthed.

In the images broadcast by the public television channel SABC, containers scattered along the highway could be seen.

The local NGO Gift of the Givers, described in a statement “highways turned into rivers” and people trapped under walls that had collapsed.

The public railway company Prasa announced the suspension of its services in the region due to landslides and rubble on the tracks.

The inhabitants were asked to avoid displacement, and for those who live in high areas to take in their neighbors affected by the rains.

These extreme weather events will be “more frequent and intense” due to climate change, said Professor of Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg, Mary Galvin, who lamented the authorities' lack of foresight.

In 2019, floods in the region left 70 dead.

Weather forecasts warn that this heavy rainfall will continue into the night.

The city of Durban was hit hard by the revolts and looting last July, the worst violent actions in the country since the end of apartheid, triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

(With information from AFP)

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