11 dead, extensive damage as rain, floods lash KZN
8 LOSE THEIR LIVES AS HOUSE COLLAPSES
ELEVEN people have been confirmed dead in KwaZuluNatal after torrential rains and floods hit the province.
The body of nine-year-old Feziwe Mabika, was found by search teams led by community members yesterday morning in Hlazane, in the Umkhanyakude district.
Mabika, along with fellow pupil, Nelisiwe Gumede, 14, had been missing since Tuesday afternoon. They were part of a group of six pupils who were trying to cross a swollen river on their way home from school. Gumede has still not been found.
Johnson Gwala, a local councilor, said: “We have been waiting for police divers to come and search for the girl but they never came. Community members then hired a boat and conducted the search themselves.”
Cousins Senamile and Alwande Khumalo drowned in a flooded pit at Luganda, west of Durban, on Saturday afternoon. Their grandmother, Nomathemba Khumalo, said the family was still finding it hard to come to terms with their loss.
“It is very sad. These kids symbolised the joy and happiness of the house and now they are gone,” she said.
She added that they will be laid to rest on Saturday.
The most affected area in the province is the South Coast, where stormy weather has led to the death of eight people whose home allegedly collapsed on them.
Hibiscus Coast municipality spokesman Simon Sob- hoyisa said the floods had also badly damaged houses, roads and bridges.
Sobhoyisa said about 250 families had to be housed at community halls and schools in the area since the rain started on Friday.
“We are prioritising the repair to roads and bridges that lead to schools because exams have started. We will also prioritise roads and bridges leading to clinics and hospitals, ” he said.
Meanwhile, disaster management teams were deployed throughout the province as the rainy weather continued.