A La Mercy family has been left shaken and in desperate need of accommodation after Monday night’s heavy rains which burst a stormwater drain, causing extensive damage to their property.
The stormwater drain which runs between two properties on Twilight Avenue and runs into a nearby lagoon burst following a heavy downpour on Monday night.
The traumatised family was being assisted by neighbours and a volunteer organisation on Tuesday afternoon. The children were sent to stay with relatives but the husband and wife remained in the house, which was damaged after the ground on the side of the property was split in two by the huge volume of water that tore through it.
Nazir Sadack who heads the volunteer organisation, Community Emergency Response Team, said that the eThekwini Municipality was assessing the damage and trying to reconnect water to homes in the area.
He said the stormwater drain gave away at around midnight on Monday and eroded the soil which then caused the boundary wall to collapse.
“And then, at around seven o'clock this morning that entire section which is a quarter section of the home, literally washed away,” he said.
Sadack said they were trying to help the family with their immediate need which is to find accommodation.
“The family is a bit traumatised at the moment. So the first port of call is to just try and get them a place to stay. And then literally from there, I think, you know, we just got to take it one day at a time in terms of the stuff in their home and how they move forward,” he said.
The South African Weather Service said that 34mm of rain fell over Durban over the 24 hour period from 8am on Monday.
IOL