By Chisomo Phiri
JOHANNESBURG-(MaraviPost)-Prolonged rains and flooding in the Durban area of South Africa have claimed the lives of at least 45 people, damaging the port, major highways and surrounding areas in KwaZulu-Natal province, local officials have confirmed.
South Africa’s military were deployed to Durban and the surrounding eThekwini metropolitan area on Tuesday April 12, 2022 to assist with rescue operations as residents flee flooded areas.
It is reported that some people have been swept away by surging waters.
The Durban port, the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, has also been inundated with floodwaters that carried away shipping containers and left them in a jumbled pile.
Currently, the authorities are providing shelter for several hundreds people whose homes and possessions were washed away by the floods and technicians are working to restore electricity to areas where power had been knocked out.
Emergency services have also for several days been responding to urgent calls for help from people stuck in their houses but the number is said to be decreasing, emergency services spokesman Robert McKenzie told the Press on Tuesday April 12, 2022.
He said “There are still cases of collapsed buildings where operations are still continuing”.
Adding “Most of our power stations have been flooded and our teams are working hard to restore power to the affected areas,”.
Mxolisi Kaunda, Mayor of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality also confirmed with the country’s local daily papers.
“Our teams are on the ground to try and return the situation to normalcy”.
“We continue to assess the damages, we cannot be sure of the extent of the damages at the moment,” he said.
