8 dead and thousands displaced by exceptionally heavy rains in South Africa

November 29, 2011 – SOUTH AFRICA – At least eight people were reported dead, about 700 houses had been destroyed and thousands had been left displaced in KwaZulu-Natal, following last night’s heavy downpour, the eThekwini Disaster Management Unit said on Monday. According to the SA Weather Bureau, 62.6mm of rain fell last night in Durban, which had already recorded 209.6mm for November, almost double its average. The acting head of the eThekwini Emergency Control and Disaster Management Unit, Vincent Ngubane, said deaths had been recorded at Umlazi, Newlands East and Chatsworth. The official death toll is eight, but the numbers could rise as emergency operations begin. In E-Section, Umlazi, Qodeni Ximba, 17, was crushed to death after a landslide caused a lounge wall to collapse on her at 11pm. She had been sleeping on the floor next to the wall. In H-Section, Lindiwe Zulu, 37, also died after a wall collapsed on her. Isaac Tau Zobane, 45, died in Quarry Heights Road, Newlands East when a sandbank collapsed on to his shack. In Lamontville at least six RDP houses collapsed. Ngubane said they had also received reports of flooding at Umkomaas, Isipingo, eDumbe (Paulpietersburg), Eshowe, Nkandla, Gingindlovu, the metro police satellite station in Albert Park and several informal settlements in the city. He said the true extent of the damage would only be known later on Monday when the disaster management teams submitted their reports to the municipality. –IOL News

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