The most catastrophic floods yet recorded in KZN

The disastrous flood which hit Durban in April last year was the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in collective terms of lives lost, homes and infrastructure damaged or destroyed and economic impact.

This is according to a study by researchers from Wits University and the University of Brighton in the UK, published in the South African Geographical Journal.

KZN floods

Professor Stefan Grab from Wits University and his colleague, Professor David Nash, constructed a geographical history of flooding disasters in KZN by sifting through thousands of archived articles held in old newspapers, colonial and government records, early missionary records and meteorological records which became available from the 1850s onwards.

They define extreme flooding events, where major rivers were overflowing their banks, together with one or more significant consequences, such as the loss of human life, livestock, agricultural fields and crops, and infrastructure such as buildings, roads and bridges.

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The study, which reconstructed the history of floods in KZN since the 1840s, confirmed a widely held – yet anecdotal view – that the April 2022 floods were likely the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KZN and that flooding events have doubled over the past century or more.

“Right after the floods, many commentators like the media and some scientists were quick to report that the floods were the most severe ever recorded,” says Grab, lead author of the study.

“Our aim was to place the floods into perspective and see if this and other statements related to the disaster were factually correct by building a historic geographic account of past floods and associated extreme rainfall events for KZN and particularly the greater Durban region.”

‘Context’

The scientists found that while the floods were indeed the most catastrophic in terms of lives lost, infrastructure damaged and economical loss, the flood was not actually the biggest in terms of the area affected, homes destroyed, or the amount of rainfall that fell collectively over a few days.

“When you look at a natural disaster you need to look at it in context. Whether the April 2022 floods were the ‘worst in living memory’ is debatable, as a flooding event in September 1987 affected a larger geographic area of KZN and destroyed more homes than the 2022 event,” says Grab.

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Similarly, a catastrophic flooding event in Durban, 1856 – also in April – produced a greater quantity of rainfall over a three-day period than last year’s floods.

In April 2022, the KZN coastal zone, including the greater Durban area and South Coast, received more than 300mm of rain in 24 hours. This led to calamitous flooding, with 459 people losing their lives and 88 people still missing by the end of May 2022.

Over 4 000 homes were destroyed, 40 000 people left homeless and 45 000 people were temporarily left unemployed. The cost of infrastructure and business losses amounted to an estimated R36 billion.

In April 1856, 303mm of rain fell in Durban over 24 hours, and a record of 691mm over a threeday period from 14 to 16 April.

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During these historic floods, an unknown number of people drowned, the entire central area of Durban was flooded, bridges were destroyed and roads were closed for several days, cutting off all communication with other parts of the country.

The floods extended inland to Howick and the Umgeni bridge was swept away. Over a 16km stretch of beach between the mouths of the Umgeni and Umhlanga rivers, 200 drowned oxen were deposited.