Deadly floods have again hit KwaZulu-Natal, this time leaving seven people dead.
A freak storm wreaked havoc mainly in Durban and surrounding areas, causing misery and mayhem.
Residents in informal settlements were severely hit with thousands displaced as their houses were submerged in water.
“The last flood that was major was in 1987. But since 2017, we have been having torrential rains. In 2022, we experienced one of the worst floods which led to the death of scores of people. On Tuesday night people were swept away. It’s just a catastrophe. We have spent over R2.2bn resettling people through building houses for displaced people,” said MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Siboniso Duma.
People generally disregard weather warnings
He added that the government was worried that people continue to disregard severe weather warning the SA Weather Service issues well in advance.
“The challenge we’re also facing is that people don’t want to heed weather warnings,” Duma stated.
He further explained that teams from the department of human settlements, Cogta and the eThekwini metro had been dispatched to assist the victims.
On the other hand, his counterpart and MEC for Cogta Thulasizwe Buthelezi said the new challenge for the local government sphere was coming up with strategies to minimise infrastructural damage resulting from floods.
“Climate change resilient infrastructure was one the main priorities for government to deal with the disastrous effect of floods,” said Buthelezi
Five die in Lamontville
In Lamontville township, five people including children were swept away by the flood.
ALS Paramedics spokesman Garrith Jamieson said evacuation and rescue teams worked throughout the night searching for survivors.
“At this stage two women and three children under the age of 17 are missing,” he said.
In the last five years, raging storms have made KZN a happy hunting ground. The calamitous flooding that exerted untold human suffering in 2022, led to the death of 459 people. Over 4 000 homes were destroyed leaving 40 000 without shelter.
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