The province of Kwazulu-Natal has suffered strong bad weather, where more than 200 mm of precipitation was recorded in 24 hours in certain areas.
Le Monde with AFP
South Africa, affected by unprecedented deadly floods in April, was once again struck by strong bad weather on the East Coast, forcing a few hundred people to leave their home on Sunday, May 22, according to the authorities .
No victim has been reported for the moment, but important destruction has been noted, mainly in the agglomeration of Durban, capital of the province of Kwazulu-Natal. “As the information comes to us, a disturbing observation is emerging,” said the chief minister of the province, Sihle Zikalala, at a press conference.
Diluvian rains had killed nearly 450 people at the end of April in floods and landslides. Survivors had remained ten days without access to drinking water. President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared the state of national disaster.
The worst natural catastrophe never recorded in the country had resulted in massive damage evaluated at several hundred million euros, in a region that had already undergone expensive destruction during a unprecedented wave of riots and looting in July.
The repairs were underway, but the new floods again affected the infrastructure, cut roads, bridges and damaged buildings. “Some areas are inaccessible and have become islands,” said Mr. Zikalala.
Some 80 reception centers
Near Umdloti beach, in the north of the city, portions of roads collapsed, leaving a gaping hole and balancing cars, a vacuum wheel, noted an AFP journalist on the spot. The treatment plant has been damaged, according to the agglomeration of Ethekwini which includes Durban.
Obviously proven, Kevin Govender, who lived in a nearby building, told AFP the water and the mud up to the second floor: “The floods began on Saturday afternoon. But the road S ‘ is collapsed and we could not go out “before the arrival of the rescue on Sunday.
Nearly 250 people had been evacuated preventively during the night. These operations and rescues continued on Sunday, emergency services receiving an increasing number of calls. Some residents are deprived of electricity. Some 80 reception centers have been opened. The police, the firefighters, as well as the rescue teams are mobilized. The army was called in reinforcement.
The informal habitats located in flooding areas close to rivers and particularly affected in previous floods were placed under surveillance. More than 200 mm of precipitation was recorded in 24 hours in certain areas, according to the National Meteorology Institute which maintained the alert at the maximum level. The rains must continue until Monday.
The Durban agglomeration has 3.9 million inhabitants. Open to the Indian Ocean, its port is one of the main maritime terminals on the continent. South Africa is generally spared by storms that regularly fall on its neighbors such as Mozambique or Madagascar.