Heavy weekend floods claim lives

SEVERAL areas in eThekwini Municipality have been hit by heavy floods following torrential rains that fell on the weekend of 7 and 8 May.

The weather office reported 126 millimetres of rainfall in the south of Durban between 8pm on Saturday and 8am on Sunday.

Some of the areas affected by the floods in the Highway area were Mariannhill and Dassenhoek near Pinetown.

Due to the heavy rains, a vehicle overturned on the N3 south-bound just before the Shongweni off-ramp on Sunday afternoon, killing a boy (3).

According to a reports by Netcare 911, the vehicle, carrying parents, three girls and a three-year-old-boy, lost control in the wet weather, crashed through the barriers and came to rest on its side with two people still trapped in the wreckage.

“Paramedics arrived at the scene and found that a boy, aged between three and four, had been ejected from the vehicle and died due to the extensive injuries that he sustained,” said Netcare 911’s Chris Botha.

The mother and one of the girls sustained critical injuries while the dad and the other two girls were in a serious condition.

A woman was found to be in a critical condition after she suffered a traumatic amputation to one of her arms.

The rescue officer and fire-fighters used the jaws of life to firstly remove the passenger side doors to gain access before they removed the roof to allow medics to extricate the injured.

The family was treated at the scene before being transported to hospital.

ER24’s Chitra Bodasing said, “While still on the scene, another collision took place close by to this incident. The collision involved a bakkie and a car.”

Homes and roads were damaged in Isipingo, Umlazi, Chatsworth, Reservoir Hills and Seacow Lake.

The city’s emergency unit has been inundated with reports and responded to a number of calls from residents who needed assistance.

EThekwini emergency services had received 76 calls by 2pm on Sunday, 8 May and the Fire Department had responded to all the reports. A one-year-old toddler was killed when a wall collapsed at an informal settlement in D Section, uMlazi, another five-year-old child lost his life in Rafia Road, Chatsworth and a four-year-old was injured in Johanna Road, Seacow Lake.

EThekwini Mayor, James Nxumalo, has expressed his condolences to the families that lost their loved ones due to the floods. He encouraged residents to report incidents resulting from the floods to the city’s emergency number before any further damage.

“We have dispatched teams to most areas that have been affected by the heavy rain. Our Disaster Management centre has also been activated to intervene in wards where people have been left destitute due to damage to their homes.

“We are very grateful for the rain in this time of drought, we encourage people to harvest as much rainwater as possible for use later. It is important, however, that we stay alert, especially motorists who are using heavily-flooded roads,” said Cllr Nxumalo.

Further reports can be made to the emergency services number, 031 361 0000.