Heavy rainfall caused havoc in Durban and other parts of the country yesterday, leaving homes destroyed, roads flooded and causing accidents in which at least one person died and 10 people were injured.
In Soweto, Gauteng, three cars were swept off a flooded bridge. The occupants were helped by residents and no one was injured.
At least 50 people were left homeless after a landslide in uMlazi resulted in informal homes being washed away.
Ethekwini Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said the victims were taken in at a nearby community and blankets and food parcels were provided.
He said other areas affected by flooding included KwaMashu and Isipingo.
“Officials are assessing the extent of the damage and will determine the type of assistance that will be provided to the affected communities.”
Various roads in the Durban CBD were flooded.
The municipality’s Emergency Control and Disaster Management Unit was on stand-by to help all affected communities.
The KZN Ministry of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs released a warning of possible floods across the province. |Several accidents across KZN added problems for motorists, as some spent hours in traffic negotiating flooded and slippery roads.
A man was killed when his SUV collided with a truck on the N3 Pietermaritzburg-bound between Shongweni and Peacevale.
ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said the SUV driver died before paramedics could arrive.
Eight people were injured, five of them school children, when a taxi crashed into the back of a two-ton truck on the N2 near Prospecton yesterday afternoon.
A woman was injured when her vehicle crashed on the N2 near Doonside.
A motorist was also lucky to leave his car unharmed after it went into a flooded area of the old North Coast road near the N2 bridge.
Heavy rainfall disrupted some flights at the King Shaka International Airport.
The stormy weather also interrupted Metrorail services in various parts of Gauteng, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA said.
Major train delays were expected.
Wiseman Dlamini, a forecaster at Weather SA’s Durban office, said the weather should clear up for the weekend, but more rain was expected next week.