Deaths, Injuries After Easter Weekend of Flooding

On Tuesday, at least six people were reported dead after heavy rains were experienced in Durban overnight. Several homesteads have been damaged, and roads heading to the city flooded.

Over the Easter weekend, police, rescue teams, emergency agencies and private ambulances were busy trying to help the affected people. As houses and walls collapsed, rescue workers were alert in the field with some describing it as an absolute disaster with many terrible tragedies.

On Tuesday, the IPSS Medical Rescue team said in a statement that various rescue organizations had spent the entire night assisting the affected people in Durban.

“Multiple structural collapse have left at least six people dead and many more missing and buried under mud and debris. IPSS Medical crews together with other agencies are still out performing search & rescue operations. The greater Durban area is severely flooded. We urge all motorists to be cautious”. 

Again on Tuesday, Sivan Subramedey, of Amawele Emergency Services confirmed that four people along with six-month-old baby died after an embankment collapsed into a house in Ellen Road, Queensburg. Two people, one with a broken leg and the other one with an injured hip, were transported to the hospital, with three others still missing.

Sivan said that were it not for the neighbors and relatives who came to assist; they could not have known how many people were in the house.

“It was a devastating scene. A similar incident occurred in Westcliff but we could not get into the premises because of the mud. An embankment collapsed onto the staff quarters at a school. It was too dangerous,” he said.

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Another report by Rescue Care paramedic’s spokesman, Garrith Jamieson, said that a 70-year woman was stuck after her house in West Road home in Overport collapsed. He added that her son who was in the same house but in a different room, died.

In Stapleton Road, Pinetown one person died when cars were washed away by the floods.

Mike Meyers, the Mobi-Claw 911 spokesman, urged people to stay away from the roads because emergency services are under pressure trying their best to deal with the flood-related and life-threatening issues being experienced in Durban.

He said, “This pressure is being exaggerated by people insisting on driving and getting themselves into unsafe situations.”

Several roads were reported flooded including the M7 between Belville Bridge and North Park Road, Higginson Highway in Chatsworth, Isipingo Beach by Prospecton, N2 north opposite Galleria mall until Umlazi offramp and Kingsway in Amanzimtoti.

Falling trees and mudslides were also reported to have affected several roads making it impossible for people to get to work

A woman in St Helier Road in Hillcrest escaped unharmed when mudslide started flowing down an embankment. Later, when she had already escaped, the waist-deep mud covered her car.

A river in Umhlatuzana has burst its bank covering the bridge and flooding several homes in Kharwastan. The road near the Shallcross Stadium was also blocked by the landslides.

The road surface on Silverglen Drive between Grasmere Avenue and Berryfield Place had collapsed while the road leading to King Edward Hospital was flooded in the Umbilo area.

The KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services spokesman, Robert McKenzie warned people from sending deceiving messages and old pictures of floods that were experienced from October.

“It was a busy Monday with peak traffic of holidaymakers. Crashes across the province on the N3 and poor visibility was reported,” he said

Another report by Netcare 911 spokesman, Shawn Herbst said that on Monday night, a 14-year-old girl died and nine others were injured after five cars collided on the N3 Southbound near Ichanga.

As a result of the floods, several schools in Durban were closed because many of the roads leading to them were inaccessible.

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