SEVERAL areas in eThekwini Municipality have been hit by heavy floods following torrential rains that fell in the last 48 hours.
The weather office reported 126 millimetres of rainfall in the Durban south and central and 92.8 millimetres in Virginia between 8pm Saturday and 8am on Sunday.
Some of the areas affected by the floods in the Highway area are Mariannhill and Dassenhoek near Pinetown.
Homes and roads have been 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.
