KwaZulu-Natal Heavy Rain Causes Death and Destruction as Mudslides Destroy Homes, Crashes Kill 4
- Mudslides struck the Mariannhill area near Pinetown on Friday after a Level 6 weather warning was issued for KwaZulu-Natal
- eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services confirmed that houses collapsed in Ward 15, Tshelimnyama, affecting several residents
- The heavy rains also caused chaos on the roads as people died in separate accidents across the province
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
KWAZULU-NATAL - Heavy rains battered KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, 18 September 2026, triggering mudslides and causing death and destruction on the roads.
The South African Weather Service had issued a Level 6 warning for the province, signalling disruptive and dangerous conditions ahead. The warning left disaster management teams on high alert, as they were monitoring all the areas that were identified as high risk.
Homes collapse due to mudslides
eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services were called to Ward 15, Tshelimnyama, in Mariannhill near Pinetown, where localised mudslides caused roughly three houses to collapse. Responders secured and cleared the site.
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The municipality confirmed that no deaths, injuries or entrapments were recorded, though 14 residents were left affected by the disaster.
To ease broader flooding pressure, Disaster Management teams worked alongside municipal technical units to open the Isipingo Estuary mouth, releasing built-up water to reduce risk to nearby communities. Assessment teams remained on the ground, coordinating relief and humanitarian support for the displaced families.
Fatal crashes on KZN roads
The destruction did not end with just the mudslides, as four people died in separate road accidents across the province as the storms raged.
KwaZulu-Natal Member of the Executive Committee for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, confirmed the fatalities early Friday morning after receiving a 4 am report from Road Traffic Inspectorate and Human Settlements teams already deployed across the province.
Two people died on the N2 near Umkuze in the Umkhanyakude District after a truck collided with a light motor vehicle. An infant was seriously injured in that same crash. Two more fatalities were recorded on the R66 between Gingindlovu and Eshowe, where a truck carrying a mounted drilling machine veered into oncoming traffic after its steering allegedly locked while in motion. Two additional people were seriously injured in that incident.
Duma cited poor visibility, wet road surfaces and flooding as the main contributing factors across multiple crashes reported on the N2 and N3.
5 bodies recovered after heavy flooding
In a related article, disaster management workers recovered the bodies of five people who were swept away during flooding.
Briefly News reported that the victims, including three children, were swept away in the Lamontville area following heavy rains.
Several roads in the Durban South area were affected, and emergency services officials were working on rescuing any trapped people.
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Source: Briefly News
