PICS: Over 120 displaced as fire ravages KZN informal settlement

Residents of Mangaunge Informal Settlement south of Durban are picking up the pieces after a devastating fire ripped through their homes.

The blaze, which broke out on Friday destroyed around 80 structures, leaving 129 people, including children, displaced.

No injuries have been reported so far, but officials are still on site investigating the scene.

The eThekwini Municipality‘s Disaster Management Centre and Fire and Emergency Services, as well as non-profit organisations and social relief partners, worked through the night to assist victims.

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A tent has since been erected to house those impacted by those who lost their homes.

The tent is separated into male and female sections. The municipality said this was a temporary measure while it and other government departments work on a more permanent solution.

Another fire at an informal settlement in Gauteng

It comes weeks after a fire broke out in the Msawawa informal settlement in Johannesburg.

“It was about 20 shack dwellings that caught fire which left many families homeless with little to nothing left.

“The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

“With the dry season and little rain, everything was so dry that the fire spread so fast. Fortunately, the firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.

“It has left the families devastated, some carrying clothes in bags while others did not have the opportunity to save their belongings because they were at work,” CPF chairperson Lizzy Mabena told The Citizen‘s sister publication, The Fourways Review.

A recent donation driver by Douglasdale Community Policing Forum (CPF) and Douglasdale SAPS members raised much-needed resources for those displaced.

“We had requested for any unperishable food, second-hand clothes, just anything that can help the affected families in getting back on their feet.

“We are so grateful because the community really showed up and we received even more than we asked for,” Mabena added.

Additional reporting by Ditiro Masuku

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