At least 10 people are dead and 13 missing after storms hit parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Christmas Eve.
The worst affected area was Ladysmith where six people died and 12 others remained missing.
KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, who visited the affected areas on Wednesday, said in addition to those killed in Ladysmith, a person died in uMzinyathi, a boy was struck by lightning in Dundee, while two people drowned in a river in Mandeni.
On Tuesday, the department said the body of the 8-year-old boy was discovered by rescuers in the Masende River, Mandeni, on Christmas day, while a man he was with was still missing.
Sithole-Moloi said: “We have about 10 who have lost their lives and about 13 missing throughout the province.”
In Ladysmith, the Bellspuit River, which runs underneath the Mbonontathu bridge, burst its banks on Sunday night, causing water to overflow onto the N11 road near the Limit Hill traffic lights.
Three vehicles travelling on the N11 were swept away.
One of the vehicles was carrying nine people, six from one family. Three of them were found deceased inside the vehicle, while the others remained missing.
The MEC said rescuers were working to ensure that those who were still missing were found and returned to their families.
“We will continue looking for them. The rescue team is going down the river trying to ensure that those people will be rescued or recovered,” she said.
She said the department had issued a Level 2 alert on December 21 and throughout the festive season for heavy rains in uMgungundlovu, uThukela, Amajuba, uMzinyathi, Ilembe and King Cetshwayo.
“We have indicated in those municipalities and districts there is going to be heavy rains and they must be alert. All the systems were put in place at the district disaster centre and also the province.”
Sithole-Moloi added there was some contingency measures taken in Ladysmith to ensure that the town was not flooded.
“We were able to mitigate and put some valves in to ensure that if the dam gets full they are able to adjust [the water] in a manner that does not flood the town,” she said.
With regard to the Bellspuit River, Sithole-Moloi said they were looking into mitigating measures to ensure the safety of the public.
The MEC said the Department of Social Development is working with the Red Cross to ensure that the survivors were assisted to get their ID documents and further assistance.
Sithole-Moloi said there were about 1 400 households affected by the storms across the province.
The Al-Imdaad Foundation, a humanitarian aid organisation, has been on the ground assisting affected people.
Abed Karim, of the Al-Imdaad Foundation, said they were providing relief aid to displaced people.
“We went into the caravan park the next day where about 22 people were given blankets, mattresses and hygiene packs and the community got together to arrange food for them.”
Samantha Meyrick from IPSS Search and Rescue said that additional SAPS K9 and Search and Rescue members arrived at the scene, making the search effort much larger than on Monday and Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, they have not been successful in finding any of the missing people. The rivers are still quite high and flowing quite fast. It has been difficult to search large areas, especially the Kliprivier which is much larger but they have scoured the banks on both sides of the rivers,” she said, adding that debris was also an issue.
The Mercury