KZN heavy rain and flooding: 56 houses collapse, more than 200 residents evacuated

MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma has announced that the province will resume the evacuation of residents affected by heavy rain and flooding in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday.

The province started the evacuation from 3pm on Thursday, with more than 200 residents earmarked.

This follows prolonged rainfall and flooding that resulted in the collapse of more than 56 houses, leaving the residents homeless.

Evacuation continued until 2am on Friday.

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“A hard-working team from Human Settlements and eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management ensure the safety of 50 residents of H Section Umlazi. They were accommodated in a self-catering facility,” said the MEC.

“I received an evacuation report at 3am from our team. The evacuation will resume at 9am today. I will continue to engage with the Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, and the Mayor of eThekwini, Cllr Cyril Xaba. This is part of ensuring a smooth evacuation process.”

Umlazi mudslide

Last week, the province’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, relocated families whose homes were destroyed by a mudslide in Umlazi.

The incident resulted in injuries to six individuals. While three were initially discharged, they were later taken for further medical examination by an Umlazi doctor following complaints of ongoing pain.

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“As a department, through the Cogta Disaster Housing Programme and in collaboration with our partners, we are committed to providing prompt support to communities across the province. We have commenced discussions with Inkosi Cele of eNgonyameni regarding the potential relocation of these families who have experienced significant trauma. It is evident that their current location is no longer safe and faces the risk of further instability,” said Buthelezi.

Aerial footage indicated that several other houses in the area showed signs of structural damage, which could present a future hazard.

“The department will continue to work with all relevant line function departments to ensure that the affected families receive all the necessary support, including that of frontline departments such as Sassa and Home Affairs, as these families have lost crucial documents.”

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