RIP: Heavy rain turns deadly in KwaZulu-Natal

The eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services has confirmed that heavy rain has resulted in four fatalities.

The eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services has confirmed that heavy rain has resulted in four fatalities. Image: iStock

The eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services has responded to a heavy rain incident that resulted in four fatalities in the south of Durban.

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In a statement issued on Thursday, the municipality reported that the adverse weather experienced in the city on Wednesday night, led to the collapse of formal and informal structures with reports of entrapments being attended to by authorities.

“Four fatalities were reported in Folweni, KwaMakhutha, Demat and Ensimbini after a wall collapsed while the occupants were asleep. Emergency services, including the City’s Disaster Management, Fire Department, as well as the South African Police Service, Pathology, and Emergency Medical Services, urgently responded to the scene where people were found trapped under rubble.

“The team worked through the night to aid the trapped victims.

Unfortunately, four people died which include a 45-year-old male in KwaMakhutha, a 13-year-old male in Folweni, a 12-year-old female in Demat, and a 13-year-old female in Ensimbini,” the municipality said.

Rescue operations are currently underway with reported entrapments in the Adams Mission area, and the city has activated its joint Disaster Management Operations Centre to coordinate its response to the impacts of the latest weather-related incident.

According to the forecast Early Warning Systems (EWS), 184mm of rain was reported in the Amanzimtoti area, between Wednesday night to Thursday morning.

The municipality said most of the current impact have been related to flooding, especially in the southern parts of the city.

Affected areas include Amanzimtoti, Morton, Clairwood and Isipingo.

Beaches and roads temporarily closed

As a safety precaution, the city announced that several beaches have been temporarily closed until further notice.

The muddy water and pollution streaming in from flooded estuaries, has led to the temporary closure of the uMdloti Beach, Isipingo Beach, Pipeline Beach, Toti Main Beach, Warner Beach, Winklespruit Beach and uMgababa Beach.

These beaches will be reopened as soon as conditions allow.

“There have also been numerous reports of uprooted trees which are obstructing roadways in Chatsworth, Umkhomazi, Morningside and Verulam. Canals are flowing at full capacity with the risk of flooding nearby properties in the south of Durban, near the Isipingo and Prospecton areas.

“There are road closures in some parts of the city, and Prospecton has limited access due to flooding. Motorists are advised to follow traffic reports and use alternative routes,” the municipality said.

It added that electricity outages have been reported in some areas, and ongoing restoration is underway.

All clinics are operational and open to the public.

Disaster Management, including emergency rescue teams and other municipal departments are also working together to conduct rescue operations and assessments.

The city said the financial implications associated with incidents from Wednesday’s adverse weather, have not yet been quantified, as this requires extensive assessments after the mop-up operations.