KZN Floods: KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala Says Death Toll Rises to 341, 40 000 People Affected by Heavy Rains
- The death toll in KwaZulu-Natal has increased following the flooding and landslides due to heavy rains
- KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala believes that the floods are the biggest disaster that the province has experience
- The Department of Social Development plans to assisted the families who lost loved ones throughout the province
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DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala announced that the death toll stood at 341 following the torrential rains the province experienced. The eThekwini Municipality is preparing for more rainfall over the weekend and Zikalala said the city is ready to deal with the floods.
Over 40 000 people have been affected, 55 are injured, at least 248 schools are damaged, and several roadways are not accessible. He believes that recent floods are the biggest disaster that the province has experienced.
Source: Getty Images
Electricity supply has been restored to parts of the city however three substations have been damaged extensively and currently remain off. Water supplies are also affected, and water tankers are deployed to assist with the shortages, TimesLIVE reported.
The Department of Social Development has assisted families who lost loved ones and will provide burial assistance to bereaved families who require it.
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Zikalala offers prayer to the families who are mourning and said that residents will demonstrate their resilience and will overcome the difficult situation, according to News24.
Social media users react to the death toll
@SiphoLingani7 said:
“This is the worst ever.”
@coolvirus posted:
“I'm staggered. Durban was home for 7 years. We had 2 huge floods in my time. We had the looting/civil unrest. But this is an order of magnitude worse in terms of loss of life.”
@IceKandis commented:
“Unimaginable tragedy.”
@ShareenSingh8 wrote:
“Such a massive tragedy. After June and now this. Really sad.”
SA Weather Service predicts more heavy rainfall over Easter Weekend in KZN, more flooding expected
Briefly News also reported the South Africa Weather Service says more heavy rains are expected to continue in KwaZulu-Natal over the Easter weekend. The province has been dealing with the aftermath of torrential rains that resulted in flooding in the past week.
The flooding in the provinces has resulted in the deaths of a reported 341 people. Many people have also been left homeless after their houses either collapsed or were affected by landslides. There has been tons of destruction caused to roads and public infrastructure.
According to SABC News, Fikile Mbalula, the Minister of Transport and Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu and Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi are expected to head down to KZN on Easter Friday to assess the damage caused by the floods.
Source: Briefly News
