In Durban in Bhambayi Parish on April 13th. RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP
Disastrous floods in South Africa have killed 341 people and affected nearly 41,000 others, according to a report, which was increasing as of Thursday evening, April 14. Most casualties were recorded in the Durban region, a major African port in KwaZulu-Natal province and the epicenter of the bad weather that began last weekend. A state of disaster has been declared.
Men and women drowned, children and babies died buried in landslides. More than 100 bodies were dumped at the Phoenix Morgue on the outskirts of Durban last night. Burials are prohibited until the sodden ground has stabilized.
The rains, unseen in more than sixty years, washed away bridges and roads and isolated much of the region bordering the Indian Ocean. More than 250 schools are affected, thousands of houses are destroyed. According to authorities, about 20 shelters have been opened, accommodating more than 2,100 homeless people. Thousands of survivors waited to be rescued and felt on their own.
Sporadic protests have erupted, calling for help. In a press release, the city of Durban called for “patience” that the relief efforts would be slowed down “due to the extent of the damage to the roads”. Cleared with excavators, some axes have been reopened, but most roads are still inaccessible, littered with rubble or drowned in brownish water. Authorities have urged people to avoid contact with this potentially “contaminated” water as much as possible.
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Thunderstorms and flooding are expected over the weekend
Residents of Amaoti township fill buckets with water from pipes on April 14. ROGAN WARD / REUTERS
In the community of Amaoti, north of Durban, where most houses are made of corrugated iron or wooden planks, crowds filled buckets with clean water from exposed pipes after a giant street collapsed.
In some areas water and electricity have been shut off for four days and everything is missing. Local authorities have called for donations of non-perishable groceries, bottled water and anything else that might keep you warm. More looting was reported. CCTV footage shared on social media showed people snatching goods from supermarket shelves.
At the port, cranes were rigging the huge metal containers that the previous day’s rain had thrown onto the highway. The region was massively devastated back in July during an unprecedented wave of riots and looting.
The forecast announces thunderstorms and the risk of local flooding for the Easter weekend. This new storm is also likely to hit the neighboring provinces of Free State (Central) and Eastern Cape (Southeast). The authorities spoke of “one of the worst storms in the history of the country”. President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented “a catastrophe of enormous proportions”.
Some South African countries regularly experience deadly storms during the November through April hurricane season. But South Africa is usually spared these extreme weather events.