The rains, which have experienced levels never reached for more than sixty years, have won bridges, roads, and isolated a large part of the area on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Le Monde and AFP
Catastrophic floods in South Africa are responsible for the death of 341 people and have affected nearly 41,000, according to a balance sheet that was still rolled out Thursday, April 14, in the evening. Most victims were recorded in the Durban area, Grand African Port of KwaZulu-Natal Province and Epicenter of the weather that started last weekend. The disaster state has been declared.
Men and women died drowned, children and babies died buried in landslides. More than one hundred bodies have been deposited last night at the Morgue of Phoenix, in the suburbs of Durban. The burials were forbidden until the soil filled with water stabilizes.
The rains, which have reached levels ever known for more than sixty years, have won bridges, roads, and isolated a large part of the area on the edge of the Indian Ocean. More than 250 schools have been affected, thousands of destroyed homes. Twenty emergency accommodation were opened, welcoming more than 2,100 people without home, according to the authorities. Looking forward to being rescued, thousands of survivors felt delivered to themselves.
Sporadic events broke out to claim help. The city of Durban called in a statement “to patience”, the relief operations are slowed down “because of the extent of road damage”. Scheduled with shovels, some axes have been reopened, but most roads are still inaccessible, dwelt with debris or drowned in brownish water. The authorities have asked people to avoid any contact with this potentially “contaminated” water as much as possible.
Storms and flood risk planned this weekend
In Amaoti Township, in northern Durban, where most dwellings are made of corrugated sheet metal plates or wooden planks, human clusters have Filled with drinking water buckets drawn from bare pipes after the collapse of a gigantic road portion.
In some areas, water and electricity have been cut off for four days and any lack. Local authorities appealed to donations of non-perishable food, bottles of water and everything that could hold hot. New looting have been reported. Images of shared surveillance cameras on social networks have shown people throbbing goods on supermarket rays.
At the port, cranes returned to the huge metal containers telled the day before by the rains up to the highway. The region has already experienced massive destruction in July, during an unprecedented wave of riots and looting.
Forecasts advertise storms and flood risks for the Easter weekend. These newbones should also affect the neighboring provinces of the Free State (Center) and Eastern Cape (Southeast). The authorities mentioned “one of the worst storms of the country’s history”. President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented “a catastrophe with enormous proportions”.
Some southern African countries are regularly prey to deadly storms during the cyclical season from November to April. But South Africa is generally spared by these extreme climate events.