Swept to sea: KwaZulu-Natal weather crisis leads to an increased death toll

KwaZulu-Natal is struggling to recover from severe weather conditions between the festive season and January, the province found itself in a state of continuous mourning and recovery.

The death toll from recent devastating floods increased to 40 recently, with five people still missing.

The KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) are assessing the situation and providing support to those affected.

Flash Floods, injuries and damages

The search and rescue team recovered 23 bodies from flash floods, in Ladysmith, on Christmas Eve.

Over 4,000 people are affected by the flash floods in KZN. 74 people were injured; some requiring urgent medical attention and others received on-site treatment.

The devastation extends beyond lives lost where roughly 800 households were damaged, 247 dwellings were destroyed and 47 people were left homeless, detailed The Witness.

ALSO READ: KZN flood victims still crying for help nearly a year after disaster

Safer on shore

Beyond floods, the province has battled drownings at its beaches.

The IPSS Medical Rescue told The Citizen two men were washed out to sea on Saturday in two different locations.

One adult struggled with swimming at Westbrook Beach and got washed out to sea. He is still missing.  

The second incident occurred at Christmas Bay, Sheffield, about 30 minutes later where a 15-year-old drowned.

His body was recovered on Sunday, midday and handed over to police.

On Friday, two 16-year-old girls drowned at Durban Beach.

“The girls were consumed by the ocean moments after they walked in,” their grandfather told The Witness.

ALSO READ: The most catastrophic floods yet recorded in KZN

Only one of the girls was found, but she died at the scene after taking too much water into her lungs.

Floods on infrastructure

Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu responded to the damage done by the floods in KZN on infrastructure.

“The biggest devastation by floods was on infrastructure that supplies raw water to eThekwini,” he told Newzroom Afrika.

He said a first pipeline was immediately attended to and repaired in 2022. But a second remained damaged until recently.

“The supply of raw water has been fully restored to its full capacity of 260 mega litres per day,” Mchunu said.

ALSO READ: Watch out for flooding in KZN and Mpumalanga!