Tue 23 Apr 2019:
Provincial authorities have confirmed that the current death toll from torrential rains that ravaged KwaZulu-Natal since Monday night is 32.
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson Senzo Mzila said on Tuesday that 23 deaths were recorded in Durban and nine others died outside the city with the figure set to rise.
In Chatsworth, south of Durban, rescue workers recovered nine bodies on Tuesday after a mudslide destroyed the home of a caretaker at Westcliff Secondary School.
One survivor was admitted to hospital.
Speaking at the scene eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede warned communities to avoid building homes in areas prone to flooding.
The bodies of a mother and a child have just been pulled out. Search and rescue workers tell me the mother was found shielding her 5-year-old with her body. It brings to 8 the number of dead here. The victims will be transported to the State mortuary. #DurbanFloods pic.twitter.com/Y76LHGfrFa
— Dasen Thathiah (@DasenThathiah) April 23, 2019
“They must not build in areas they are not supposed to because the soil in these areas lie on flood banks and we are warning our communities of this because more floods are coming.”
Gumede said disaster management teams have already been deployed to various sectors of the city to establish assembly points for displace families.
“We have put up marquees, spoken to local priests and have opened up our community halls so our community can go and settle there to get hot meals and be safe until everything has been cleared. We want all our public members to be safe, if you feel that where you are is not safe [sic], please phone your councillor because we are all working together to resolve this issue.”
She told media that a provincial state of emergency would only be declared until provincial government had completed its investigation into the extent of damage within the province.
Meanwhile Netcare 911’s Shawn Herbst said they responded to reports of a structural collapse in the KwaNdengezi near Mariannridge, west of Durban, on Tuesday.
