KwaZulu-Natal residents have been left reeling following the deadly torrential rains and flash floods that have brought misery and anguish to the residents.
The weekend floods and heavy rains have claimed the lives of 11 people, with two still missing.
Twenty-four-year-old Bonga Zungu is struggling to come to terms with the death two of his family members.
Loss of mom, 3-year-old relative
His mother Ncamisile Zungu, 55, and Selu Zungu, 3, had been sleeping in their home in aMaoti at the Inanda township, south of Durban when they met their fate.
He narrated a painful ordeal of how he tried in vain to retrieve the bodies of his loved ones who were buried underneath a pile of rubble.
“Maybe if I was around as a man I would have done something to save their lives. I was told that a wall collapsed on them, and nobody could come to their rescue. Their death will haunt me forever,” he lamented.
Zungu had been in another location when disaster struck following heavy rains. The torrential rains battered Durban, uThongathi, Verulam, KwaDukuza and several nearby areas.
“I received a call from one of the neighbours informing me to rush home. By the time I got there it was already too late. On my way home, I prayed that I would find them alive. But God had plans of his own,” he said.
Death toll at 11, others missing
At least 11 people were reported dead and two missing when the heavy rains hit at the weekend. Critical infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads were also not spared. Homes and bridges also collapsed.
The province has become prone to deadly natural disasters such as floods. This year alone, Ladysmith on the province’s midlands, has been hit twice by devastating floods. These left mayhem and misery, with calls mounting that a state of disaster be declared. The damage in the aftermath of the floods has been estimated to run into billions of rands.
eThekwini Metro also hardest hit
“Our preliminary reports indicate that in eThekwini metro about 250 households and 1,000 people were directly affected at this stage. Seventy households and 300 people in KwaDukuza and a further 70 households in Ndwedwe,” said the provincial department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs in a statement.
In 2021, hundreds of people lost their lives and many were displaced. The eThekwini metro was hugely affected when homes were washed away. This was following heavy rains and record-breaking floods. Some flood victims have struggled to rebuild their lives. They remained in temporary shelter, two years after the disaster struck.
