Durban - This province has a too-long, sad history with floods, which we trace over 150 years on Page 2 today.
It is a history of death and destruction, of loss and pain. But it is also a history of generosity and heroism.
As the full scale of the current disaster emerges over the coming days, so too will the tales of bravery and heroism. Among them will be the aid organisations known for springing into action in such times. Now we include in their ranks security and private ambulance companies which rendered invaluable services during these floods.
With nearly 400 deaths already at the time of writing, and the province bracing itself for another battering starting yesterday afternoon, I freely admit being thoroughly scared ahead of the expected weekend rains.
We escaped largely unscathed from the first rains, only experiencing water and power interruptions.
Both were restored within hours, and we still have a roof over our heads so I'm grateful.
Many have lost so much, including life and limb, including three siblings and their gran in Tongaat, and two brothers from Northdene.
No doubt we will hear of many more tragedies in the coming days, along with tales of shortages and outages.
But there will also be accounts of generosity and heroism.
We should endeavour to be part of this effort and help those affected however we can (we have included a list of organisations you can contribute to).
Give anything you have in excess to shelters, reach out to poor families in your area.
Our humanity should not become a casualty of the floods too.
The Independent on Saturday