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The death toll from severe flooding in eastern South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province rose to 443 on Sunday at least 63 people are still missingOfficial sources reported.
The updated total death toll was released this afternoon at a press conference by provincial government chief Sihle Zikalala, who reiterated that these floods “are among the worst disasters in KwaZulu-Natal province in a long time”.
Emergency teams continue to work in the devastated area, which is again on alert due to forecasts of heavy rain and winds.
This is appreciated by local authorities, who have described this disaster as one of the “darkest” moments in the province’s history around 40,000 people were affected by flooding since the torrential rains began last Monday.
They also estimate that 3,937 homes were totally destroyed and 8,039 partially damaged.
Houses affected by the floods in South Africa. Reuters
The South African government has declared the province a state of emergency and deployed army troops to help with emergency response and the search for missing people.
The total damage has not yet been estimated, but will amount to millions in losses, KwaZulu-Natal Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala conceded this week.
The region of Durban, the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest in South Africa, has been hardest hit. the floods they particularly affect the slums of informal settlements their surroundings, some of them completely washed away by water and landslides.
The infrastructure with electricity, running water and many medical centers was also badly damaged.
According to calculations by Mxolisi Kaunda, Mayor of Durban City Council (officially known as eThekwini), the damage was estimated at 757 million rand (around 50 million euros) in this municipality alone on Thursday.
The President of the country Cyril Ramaphosavisited the affected area last Wednesday and noted that it was a “disaster of enormous proportions” and also made a direct link between the floods and climate change.
KwaZulu-Natal has seen an increase in such severe weather events in recent years.
The worst of recent times came in 2019, when torrential rain and flooding at the same time of year killed about 80 people.
Also this province is still grappling with the devastation caused by the serious civil unrest experienced by South Africa in July 2021, which has just been experienced with greater intensity in KwaZulu-Natal, where 275 of the 354 dead left behind by these incidents were recorded.