Nearly 400 dead in severe South Africa flooding

Johannesburg, South Africa, Apr 16 (EFE).- At least 398 people have died and 27 are still missing as a result of a devastating flood in South Africa’s coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal, as emergency services continued to search for bodies on Saturday, officials said.

The torrential rains, which began on Monday last week, have affected some 40,000 people in KwaZulu-Natal, home to Durban, the third-largest city in South Africa.

An estimated 3,937 homes were totally destroyed and 8,039 partially damaged as a result of the flooding, according to official data.

The government declared the province a disaster area on Wednesday and has deployed army troops to assist emergency services in the search for missing people.

Many households across the province remain without power and running water while thousands of people have been displaced and remained homeless, according to local authorities.

The shanty towns around Durban have been particularly hard-hit, with many informal houses completely washed away by torrential rains and landslides.

Local authorities have described the disaster as one of the “darkest moments” in the province’s history.

KwaZulu-Natal has been experiencing extreme weather events in recent years.

In 2019, some 80 people died after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the same area. EFE

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