South Africa’s flood-ravaged east coast was on Saturday hit by more rain after the deadliest storm to strike the country in living memory killed nearly 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless.
Floodwaters engulfed parts of the southeastern coastal city of Durban this week, ripping apart roads, destroying hospitals and sweeping away homes and those trapped inside.
Emergency services in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, where Durban is located, were on high alert.
Photo: AFP
Humanitarian relief work and recovery operations were under way in the city of 3.5 million, which would normally have been teeming with Easter holidaymakers this weekend.
The death toll on Saturday rose to 398, while 27 people were reported still missing, the government said in a statement.
More than 40,000 people have been rendered homeless.
“Sadly there are still bodies being recovered from homesteads, especially from the rural areas,” said Shawn Herbst, spokesman for emergency medical response company Netcare 911.
“There is still damage taking place, especially with the rain we are experiencing today,” he said.
This weekend’s rainfall would not be “as hectic as it was in the past few days,” South African Weather Service forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng said.
With soil being over-saturated with water, more flooding is expected.
Troops, police and volunteers are leading the search and rescue operation.
Residents of Marianhill, desperate for news of their missing relatives were relieved at the sight of rescuers, but the dread of fresh rains lingered.
“We have the rescue team finally ... reach here, but seeing the rain that is coming back, they are going to be disrupted,” said Dumisani Kanyile after recovery teams failed to find any of the 10 members of one family missing in the Durban district.
Mesuli Shandu, 20, a close relative of the family, was still in a state of disbelief “that a massive number of people died in one day, including babies.”
“When I came, I thought it was a dream, maybe someone would pinch me and say it was a dream, just wake up,” but “I see all the rescuers and the dogs searching for their bodies,” Shandu said.
Six days after the floods first struck, hope of finding survivors is fading and KZN Emergency Medical Services spokesman Robert McKenzie said the response was now focused on recovery and humanitarian relief.
“We have moved from the emergency phase to the recovery phase of the disaster, more to humanitarian relief effort and restoration of services,” he said.
Survivors are still desperately looking for missing relatives.
The floods have damaged more than 13,500 houses and completely destroyed about 4,000, leaving 58 hospitals and clinics “severely affected,” the government said.
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