At least 259 dead in South Africa’s Durban area as flooding continues

A lady is seen by means of a broken wall hanging objects on a makeshift clothesline in Ntuzuma, exterior Durban, South Africa, on April 13, 2022.

(Related Press)

Flooding in South Africa’s Durban space has taken a minimum of 259 lives and is a “disaster of monumental proportions,” President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned Wednesday.

“This catastrophe is a part of local weather change. It's telling us that local weather change is severe, it's right here,” mentioned Ramaphosa, visiting flooded areas of Durban and the encompassing eThekwini metropolitan space.

“We not can postpone what we have to do, and the measures we have to take to take care of local weather change,” he mentioned.

The demise toll is anticipated to rise as search and rescue operations proceed in KwaZulu-Natal province, officers mentioned. The province is about to be declared a catastrophe space by the nationwide authorities, Ramaphosa mentioned.

“KwaZulu-Natal goes to be declared a provincial space of catastrophe, in order that we're in a position to do issues rapidly. The bridges have collapsed, the roads have collapsed, folks have died and persons are injured,” Ramaphosa mentioned.

He mentioned one household had misplaced 10 members within the devastating floods.

Residents have needed to flee their houses because the buildings had been swept away. Buildings collapsed and highway infrastructure was severely broken. Durban port was flooded and delivery containers had been swept right into a jumbled heap.

Authorities had been additionally looking for to revive electrical energy to giant components of the province after heavy flooding at numerous energy stations.

Rescue efforts by the South African Nationwide Protection Pressure had been delayed because the army’s air wing was additionally affected by the floods, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya mentioned. The army was in a position to deploy personnel and helicopters across the province Wednesday, he mentioned.

The South Africa Climate Companies has warned of extra wind and rain and the danger of continued flooding in Kwazulu-Natal and different provinces over the upcoming Easter weekend. South Africa’s Jap Cape, Free State and North West provinces may very well be affected, it mentioned.