KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube is saddened by the loss of lives following flash floods that swept through a caravan park in Ladysmith on Christmas Eve.
At least seven people have been confirmed dead and search and rescue operations are under way to locate 12 other people who are missing.
Six people lost their lives in Ladysmith while one person was killed in Mandeni, also in KwaZulu-Natal.
Bellspruit Rivers bursts its banks
On Wednesday, Dube-Ncube sent her condolences to the families of the victims of floods.
“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of victims who lost their lives due to the heavy rains on Christmas Eve,” said Dube-Ncube.
She said the flash floods occurred as a result of the Bellspuit River bursting its banks and causing water to overflow onto the N11 Road near the Limit Hill robots in Ladysmith.
The Bellspruit River runs under the Mbonothu Bridge in the area.
Bongi Sithole, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for cooperative governance, is expected to visit the floods-affected areas in the province on Wednesday.
This as search and rescue operations are continuing after they were hampered by persistent rains on Tuesday.
At the time of publishing, the members of the search and rescue teams were combing through the dams and rivers in the area.
The rescue teams have since urged members of the community to be cautious, especially in areas that are prone to flood disasters.
Counting the costs
This as the South African Weather Service said the heavy rains are expected to continue in some parts of the province until Wednesday.
Alfred Duma local municipality mayor Zama Sibisi said on Monday that the municipality was still counting the costs of the devastating flash floods.
“Because of how the town is built, such disasters always bring calamity to our town,” lamented Sibisi.
In November 2022, the floods in KwaZulu-Natal caused a severe impact on economic activity in the province, as they brought business operations to a halt in several industries, chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo said at the time.
Masondo noted that the floods came at a time when KwaZulu-Natal was recovering from the effects of the 2021 July riots, which cost the province over R20-billion and put more than 150 000 jobs at risk.
