Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) yesterday confirmed that seven people died in Tuesday’s storm in the province.
Cogta said two bodies were recovered in the Bayhead Canal yesterday. Other deaths occurred in Cato Crest, Pinetown and Glenashley in Durban and one death was also confirmed in Ugu Municipality on the KZN South Coast.
The department said others were reported as missing.
When The Mercury visited Cato Crest yesterday, residents reported that at least 20 houses had been washed away and two people had died – Happy Gwija, 60, and 20-year-old Ludres Chambe.
Seven people were named as being missing by relatives. They are Babalwa Phandla, Nomfundo and Sisanda Mbhele, Thembela and Puleng Ngxolo, Lindiwe Luthuli and Bulelwa Mkhize.
Nozipho Sibiya, 40, a resident who survived the ordeal but suffered injuries to her neck and back, said her mother, Happy Gwija, died when flood waters engulfed their home.
Sibiya said they had been indoors when the shack started filling with water.
“My mother told the children to run to the neighbour’s house across from our shack. I tried holding her so that we could also go to the neighbour’s house but the water was too strong and washed me away.
“I hit my head and my lower back on a pipe but I managed to grab on to a tree branch and called for help,” she said.
Sibiya said she was taken to hospital and discharged on Wednesday. Her mother’s body was also recovered on Wednesday.
Mozambican national Sergio Chiconela, the husband of Ludres Chambe, said when the water began to flood the home, he started to pack up their belongings so they could leave.
“We were trying to save important documents.”
He said due to the downed electrical cables and the rising water, his wife was electrocuted.
“I tried getting to her, but I also was shocked.”
She was declared dead at the scene.
Nozipho Ngxolo of Bizana, whose daughter and granddaughter are missing, said she got a call about the storm.
“I quickly left home to see for myself what happened. When I got to Cato Crest I found that my daughter’s shack was no more. We have not been able to sleep, we have been sitting all night hoping they find them but there has been no luck,” she said.
PR councillor Musa Dlamini, who is standing in for Mzimuni Ngiba, said residents have been working non-stop to find the missing people.
“I can assure the community that I will not rest until they are found,’’ he said.
Cogta said houses in eThekwini Metro bore the brunt of the devastation, with about 70 houses destroyed and a further 110 houses partially damaged. This has affected a total of 552 people, leaving 151 individuals homeless.
In the Ugu District Municipality, one house was destroyed, while three
houses suffered partial damages affecting 29 people. One person was left homeless.
Schools were damaged in the Pinetown District, while further assessments are under way to determine the full extent of the destruction.
The agricultural sector has also suffered losses, with four gardens in Inanda wards 51, 54 and 55 affected.
Additionally, chicken farms in Inanda were adversely affected. The heavy rains had also resulted in pollution at Blue Lagoon Beach in Durban, caused by debris from the Umgeni River.