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KWAZULU-NATAL Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said on Wednesday that the death toll from the floods in KZN has now risen to 253.
Heavy downpours have been battering KwaZulu-Natal province since the weekend, triggering flash floods that swept away bridges, homes, vehicles, and roads and causing significant infrastructural damage.
Communities adjacent to rivers are being warned to relocate immediately.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the province on Wednesday and told the people of KwaZulu-Natal that government will intervene to help families affected by the floods.
Ramaphosa is expected to visit at least five more communities in eThekwini to assess the damage and to offer support.
Speaking to the residents of Clermont in eThekweni Municipality, where he visited a family that has lost four children after a wall fell on their home during the floods, the President said government will provide aid and relief to those who have been affected.
“I wanted to visit this area to see what has occurred… and I can see that [following the floods] this area is in a very bad state. A great tragedy has befallen you, one that we have not seen in a long time. The most painful effect of these floods is that many lives have been lost, people’s homes have been destroyed, streets, bridges and churches have been destroyed.
“We are here to see this for ourselves and to assess how government can intervene and where government can step in to help,” he said.
Ramaphosa passed his condolences to the bereaved families and committed government’s support to them.
“You are not alone on this journey. We will walk with you. We will help you in all the ways that we can. We know that your hearts are broken because of what has happened but we are here to say that we are with you,” he said.
Premier Sihle Zikalala convened a special executive meeting to receive a report on the disaster.
He called for the declaration of a state of disaster.
Meanwhile, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda warned motorists and community members not to use roads affected by heavy flooding.
During a media briefing on April Tuesday, he also urged residents to evacuate their homes if the structure was unstable.
Kaunda defended the municipality’s maintenance of its infrastructure.
He said many of the emergency incidents were a result of landslides and flooding that was not linked to the city’s drainage systems.
He was unable to quantify the cost, thus far, of damage to infrastructure in the municipality.
Several water supply lines had also been affected. Land fields, water treatment plants, bulk pipes have also been severely damaged.
The flood also resulted in damage to roads and had knocked out electricity supply to several parts of the city.
“The infrastructure team is out rectifying the damage and work is under way to reconnect services,” he said.
STAFF REPORTER|