Nearly rainless skies on Sunday seemed to offer some respite for South Africa, whose east coast was hit by floods that left 443 people dead, according to a new toll, with dozens still missing.
Most of the victims were recorded in the region of Durban, a port city of 3.5 million inhabitants in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) open to the Indian Ocean and where heavy rains have been falling for a week causing floods. and deadly landslides.
The death toll now stands at 443
, provincial minister Sihle Zikalala said at a press conference. Some 63 people are still missing.
People stranded after bridge collapse in Ntuzuma, near Durban
Photo: Associated Press
The rain was still falling in some places but insignificantly compared to the previous days. Flood risk is low in KwaZulu-Natal today
assured AFP the forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng, of the national institute of meteorology. Precipitation will dissipate completely by Wednesday and through the end of next week
.
In recent days, ministers and traditional leaders, Zulu King Misuzulu Zulu and President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has postponed a trip abroad, have been on the ground to assess the extent of the damage and support the bereaved.
Families have been decimated, losing several members in a matter of seconds. Children and babies have died, drowned or buried in mudslides.
Calls to prayer
On this Easter Sunday, calls for prayer for the victims multiplied during religious gatherings.
It’s a tragedy of overwhelming proportions
said Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town and successor to Desmond Tutu, referring to stress and pain
for the community.
The emergency services are still on alert, but they receive fewer calls. The number of flood-related cases has decreased
Robert McKenzie, who is part of the relief, told AFP.
A man searches for debris at the edge of a lagoon near Durban.
Photo: dpa via getty images / RAJESH JANTILAL
A team was in the morning in the suburb of Pinetown. A house collapsed overnight. Luckily the flood waters have receded and some roads are cleared making it easier to access
explained the rescuer.
Nearly 340 social service representatives have been deployed to provide psychological support in the impacted areas. Food vouchers, school uniforms and blankets continue to be distributed.
Hundreds of millions of euros in damages
More than 250 schools have been affected. Nearly 4,000 houses razed, more than 13,500 damaged. Many hospitals, heavily used for the wounded, have been degraded.
Authorities expect hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The region had already experienced massive destruction in July during an unprecedented wave of riots and looting.
The poorest, in the townships, have been dramatically hit by the bad weather. Houses made of sheets of corrugated iron or simple planks of wood, often built on unbuildable and flood-prone land, did not last long in the deluge.
A man watches helplessly where his house was before the floods.
Photo: Reuters/ROGAN WARD
In some parts of the province, water and electricity have been cut since Monday. Desperate residents were seen carrying buckets of water on roadside carts. The food is missing, what was left rotted.
Donations are collected across the country, especially in fire stations. Pasta, preserves, covers. Government emergency aid of $85 million (one billion rand) has been announced.
Every year, the hurricane season from November to April unleashes storms in southern Africa. Countries like Madagascar or Mozambique are regularly hit by deadly storms. But South Africa is generally spared.
