Heavy rainfall that started during the Easter weekend, killing 13 people at a collapsed church in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal Province, has claimed 32 lives so far, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance Department on Tuesday.
Children are among those who died in mudslides, while 0 people are still missing, and hundreds have been displaced by the heavy rains, the department’s spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said.
He urged Durban residents to move to higher ground and seek safety amid persistent flooding in the province.
“We’re doing everything to make sure that we reach everyone. We’re asking people to move to higher ground and to make sure that they look for safety first.
“The weather conditions have not subsided at this stage. We still have warnings that there’s likely to be more rains,” Mabaso said, adding that the full extent of the damage was not yet known.
“We are doing our best to make sure that we cover all the areas that are affected,” he said, noting that buildings and homes have suffered extensive damage.
Mabaso said emergency services were working tirelessly, especially in Durban, where the floods were most severe – with over 300 people evacuated from low lying areas.
NM/as/APA