Dubai Telegraph - Nearly 60 dead in S.Africa floods, more rains coming

EUR -
AED 3.85579
AFN 76.752983
ALL 98.990951
AMD 418.261764
ANG 1.886428
AOA 960.004243
ARS 1106.259369
AUD 1.651855
AWG 1.889557
AZN 1.788749
BAM 1.955621
BBD 2.113407
BDT 127.178374
BGN 1.955621
BHD 0.395364
BIF 3099.316669
BMD 1.049754
BND 1.404372
BOB 7.232339
BRL 5.988536
BSD 1.046704
BTN 90.743704
BWP 14.43768
BYN 3.425487
BYR 20575.179075
BZD 2.102508
CAD 1.489549
CDF 3008.595443
CHF 0.944533
CLF 0.025765
CLP 988.699616
CNY 7.614958
CNH 7.620484
COP 4330.404127
CRC 530.75148
CUC 1.049754
CUP 27.818482
CVE 110.254921
CZK 25.039472
DJF 186.39296
DKK 7.464932
DOP 65.064052
DZD 141.992019
EGP 53.114144
ERN 15.746311
ETB 134.068744
FJD 2.411604
FKP 0.843639
GBP 0.834098
GEL 2.965597
GGP 0.843639
GHS 16.171522
GIP 0.843639
GMD 75.061456
GNF 9049.17275
GTQ 8.080261
GYD 218.989981
HKD 8.171926
HNL 26.684561
HRK 7.584553
HTG 136.95748
HUF 402.501982
IDR 16984.862814
ILS 3.723006
IMP 0.843639
INR 90.940721
IQD 1371.174651
IRR 44181.526931
ISK 147.018457
JEP 0.843639
JMD 165.28489
JOD 0.744805
JPY 159.879118
KES 135.387623
KGS 91.801394
KHR 4190.616906
KMF 491.918723
KPW 944.873173
KRW 1513.14736
KWD 0.323661
KYD 0.87222
KZT 520.392427
LAK 22747.920449
LBP 93732.131273
LKR 309.341721
LRD 208.82091
LSL 19.233242
LTL 3.099651
LVL 0.634986
LYD 5.135531
MAD 10.449845
MDL 19.573211
MGA 4930.549263
MKD 61.524376
MMK 3409.560155
MNT 3633.358171
MOP 8.391633
MRU 41.669191
MUR 48.782467
MVR 16.170137
MWK 1814.834093
MXN 21.311586
MYR 4.655138
MZN 67.083198
NAD 19.233242
NGN 1590.377723
NIO 38.516479
NOK 11.68044
NPR 145.189727
NZD 1.832527
OMR 0.403893
PAB 1.046704
PEN 3.888844
PGK 4.209615
PHP 60.565599
PKR 292.17359
PLN 4.169591
PYG 8247.24606
QAR 3.815851
RON 4.979407
RSD 117.119293
RUB 95.49127
RWF 1468.565748
SAR 3.937134
SBD 8.852278
SCR 15.09562
SDG 630.902531
SEK 11.227141
SGD 1.40573
SHP 0.864564
SLE 23.882294
SLL 22012.823144
SOS 598.145319
SRD 36.975526
STD 21727.789068
SVC 9.158163
SYP 13649.968557
SZL 19.229242
THB 35.416641
TJS 11.424756
TMT 3.674139
TND 3.314097
TOP 2.458633
TRY 38.052881
TTD 7.103351
TWD 34.306491
TZS 2721.451213
UAH 43.555118
UGX 3851.647893
USD 1.049754
UYU 45.465844
UZS 13599.756749
VES 65.060558
VND 26653.254935
VUV 129.815991
WST 2.97854
XAF 655.89704
XAG 0.03265
XAU 0.000364
XCD 2.837013
XDR 0.801427
XOF 655.89704
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.339349
ZAR 19.273278
ZMK 9449.04978
ZMW 29.491304
ZWL 338.020371
  • RELX

    -0.8400

    51.07

    -1.64%

  • NGG

    -0.5400

    60.73

    -0.89%

  • SCS

    -0.0700

    12.35

    -0.57%

  • GSK

    -0.3800

    36.17

    -1.05%

  • BCC

    1.0300

    121.63

    +0.85%

  • CMSC

    0.0900

    23.5

    +0.38%

  • BTI

    -0.7900

    38.82

    -2.04%

  • CMSD

    0.1872

    23.69

    +0.79%

  • RBGPF

    63.5700

    63.57

    +100%

  • BCE

    0.1900

    23.82

    +0.8%

  • AZN

    -0.8700

    73.58

    -1.18%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.36

    -0.84%

  • RIO

    0.0700

    63.36

    +0.11%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    7.84

    +0.26%

  • JRI

    0.0435

    12.83

    +0.34%

  • BP

    0.5100

    35

    +1.46%

Nearly 60 dead in S.Africa floods, more rains coming
Nearly 60 dead in S.Africa floods, more rains coming / Photo: Phill Magakoe - AFP

Nearly 60 dead in S.Africa floods, more rains coming

The death toll from floods and mudslides after rainstorms struck the South African port city of Durban and surrounding areas in KwaZulu-Natal province has climbed to 59, authorities said on Tuesday.

Text size:

The country's meteorologists forecasted more "extreme" rains on the way Tuesday night accompanied by "widespread flooding".

"Many people lost their lives with Ethekwini (Durban metro) alone reporting 45 so far," while in iLembe district "more than 14 are reported to have tragically lost their lives," the provincial government said in a statement.

It said the disaster "wreaked untold havoc and unleashed massive damage to lives and infrastructure" affecting all races and social classes from rural areas, townships to luxury estates.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to visit the affected area on Wednesday.

"This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government," said Ramaphosa.

Days of driving rain flooded several areas, tore houses apart and ravaged infrastructure across the southeastern city, while landslides forced train services to be suspended.

The rains have flooded city highways to such depths that only the tops of traffic lights poked out, resembling submarine periscopes.

Torrents tore several bridges apart, submerged cars and collapsed houses. A fuel tank was floating in the sea after being tossed off the road.

The rains have flooded city highways, torn apart bridges, submerged cars and collapsed houses. A fuel tank was floating in the sea after being tossed off the road.

Several stacked shipping containers fell like dominoes and lay strewn on a yard, while some spilled over into a main road in the city, one of southern Africa's largest regional gateways to the sea.

Global shipping firm Maersk suspended its operations in Durban on Tuesday due to the floods.

"At around 3:00 am (0100 GMT), I felt the truck shaking and I thought maybe someone bumped it and when I tried to open the curtain I saw the water level... was very high," said truck driver Mthunzi Ngcobo.

- Looting -

The disaster management department in KwaZulu-Natal province, of which Durban is the largest city, urged people to stay at home and ordered those residing in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

More than 2,000 houses and 4,000 "informal" homes, or shacks, have been damaged, provincial premier Sihle Zikalala, told journalists.

Rescue operations, aided by the military, are underway to evacuate people trapped in affected areas.

Fifty-two secondary students and teachers who were marooned at a Durban secondary school, were successfully airlifted to safety following "a long traumatic night, trapped", education authorities said.

More than 140 schools have been affected by the flooding.

Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda earlier said that power stations had been flooded and water supplies disrupted -- and that even graveyards had not been spared the devastation.

The city had only just recovered from deadly riots last July in which shopping malls were looted and warehouses set on fire, in South Africa's worst unrest since the end of apartheid.

There have been reports of looting, with TV footage showing people stealing from a cargo containers.

The provincial government condemned "reports of the looting of containers" during the flooding, calling on police to ensure that property was protected.

- 'Climate change getting worse' -

Southern parts of the continent's most industrialised country are bearing the brunt of climate change -- suffering recurrent and worsening torrential rains and flooding.

Floods killed around 70 people in April 2019.

"We know it's climate change getting worse, it's moved from 2017 with extreme storms to supposedly having record floods in 2019, and now 2022 clearly exceeding that," University of Johannesburg development studies professor Mary Galvin said.

"Droughts and floods will become more frequent and more intense and that's what we are seeing" she said, frustrated at government's lack of preparedness.

"It's not surprising, it's absolutely devastating but equally devastating is the fact that we haven't done anything to get ready for it," she lamented.

The South African Weather Service admitted that "the exceptionally heavy rainfall overnight (Monday) and (Tuesday) morning exceeded even the expectations of the southern African meteorological community at large".

Y.Al-Shehhi--DT