Death toll of South Africa floods rises to 443, dozens still missing

After severe rains in recent days created floods and mudslides that killed more than 440 people in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) region, rescuers looked for scores of people who were still missing on Sunday.

Thousands of people have been displaced by the floods, which have also affected operations at one of Africa’s largest ports, Durban. The whole infrastructure damage, according to a province economic authority, is projected to be worth more than ten billion rand.

Sihle Zikalala, the province’s premier, said the dead toll had grown to 443, with 63 people still missing.

Residents in some of the worst-affected districts said they were scared of further rain, which was expected to pour on Sunday. Some people had to wait in agony for word of missing loved ones.

‘We haven’t given up hope. Even though we are continually concerned as the days pass,’ Sbongile Mjoka, a Sunshine village resident in the eThekwini municipality, has been searching for his 8-year-old nephew for days.

‘The sight of rain traumatises us,’ Mjoka, 47, told Reuters, adding that her home had been severely damaged.

Three members of the Sibiya family were killed when the walls of the room where they slept collapsed in a nearby semi-rural region, and 4-year-old Bongeka Sibiya is still missing.

‘Everything serves as a stark reminder of what we’ve lost, and the inability to locate (Bongeka) is tragic since it prevents us from grieving or healing. We’re left feeling hollow at this point, 33-year-old Lethiwe Sibiya said.

The office of President Cyril Ramaphosa announced late Saturday that he had postponed a working travel to Saudi Arabia in order to focus on the calamity. Ramaphosa will hold a meeting with cabinet ministers to examine the crisis response.

Premier Zikalala of KZN said the floods were among the worst in his province’s history during a televised briefing.

He remarked, ‘We must muster our collective courage and convert this disaster into an opportunity to restore our province. From this mayhem, the people of KwaZulu-Natal will rise.’