floods kill at least 59 in the east of the country

Floods have killed at least 59 people in South Africa, after several days of heavy rains on the east coast of the country, Tuesday, April 12. Forty-five people were killed in the metropolis of Durban, the region’s largest city, and “at least 14 people lost their lives” in neighboring iLembe district, provincial authorities said in a statement. For his part, President Cyril Ramaphosa regretted “a tragic toll” and announced in a press release that he will be there on Wednesday.

And the authorities fear the ravages of new bad weather announced for the night. New rains “extreme” are scheduled for the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in the province of Kwazulu-Natal (east), accompanied by“widespread flooding”, warned the South African meteorological services. Residents have been urged to avoid any movement.

Throughout the day, rescue operations continued, particularly in Durban, one of the main African ports open to the Indian Ocean. The army was mobilized to provide air support during the evacuations. Collapsed bridges, devastated roads, residents and schoolchildren remained prisoners of the rising waters for several hours. At least 140 schools have been affected.

More than 2,000 homes were damaged along with some 4,000 informal dwellings, according to the provincial government. “It’s a nightmare, lots of mudslides, victims, collapsed buildings”told AFP a member of the rescue teams, Garrith Jamieson.