Intense flooding and mudslides claim 60 lives in South Africa

Scores of people have died from flooding and mudslides in the South African city of Durban and the wider Kwazulu-natal province, according to officials.

At least 60 people have been killed with more than 1,000 displaced, according to the country’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, who flew into the affected region to assess the damage caused by heavy rains that began on Monday.

A six-month-old baby and a young child are among the confirmed dead.

A report by state broadcaster SABC said hundreds of homes in the coastal city of Durban alone had been damaged or swept away.

But despite rising water levels, some residents are reportedly staying put because they fear if they abandon their homes they will be looted.

Rescue workers were digging through collapsed homes and other buildings in coastal areas of Kwazulu-natal province, where the death toll continues to rise, local officials said.

The region has been hit by heavy rains for days, but authorities did not anticipate the extent of the downpour seen late on Monday, said Lennox Mabaso, a provincial government spokesman.

“As a result there was flooding and some structures were undermined and collapsed on people,” Mr Mabaso said, adding some people were swept away by the water.

The floods damaged businesses, homes and at least two universities.

Mr Ramaphosa thanked those who had taken risks to save others.

“We thank the communities and individuals who risked their own lives to save loved ones, neighbours or strangers,” he said on Twitter yesterday.

He added: “We also thank the NGOS who are helping those in need by providing shelter, food and ablution facilities. I’ll be going to EC [Eastern Cape province] to assess the situation there as well.”

Earlier he released a statement, saying: “This situation calls on all of us to pull together as a country to reach out to affected communities.”

The BBC’S Southern Africa Correspondent Nomsa Maseko reported that the president laid a wreath on the spot where eight people had lost their lives.

He had reportedly pushed away his bodyguards who had been preventing people from approaching and talking to him.

More than 2,000 emergency calls have been placed since heavy rains began to fall on Monday evening, with numerous power outages reported.

Provincial minister Nomusa Dube-ncube told SAFM radio that officials are continuing to assess the damage.

In the long term, people may have to be moved from the affected areas, she added.