RESIDENTS of uMdloti protested outside the Salta Sibaya property development on Wednesday morning after the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

The seaside village of uMdloti once again bore the brunt of this weekend’s heavy rains.

Homes and buildings, deemed structurally unsafe, were evacuated, and several damaged multimillion-rand properties on Bellamont Road suffered wash-aways due to a landslide.

On Wednesday morning, residents held up placards, laying the blame at the feet of property developers and calling for a plan of action.

One of the organisers and uMdloti resident, Kevin Minter-Brown, said people have lost their homes due to the mudslides.

“The fact of the matter is we acknowledge that these past two floods were radical and that there would have been some level of damage, however, not to the extent we have seen. If this development had done proper due diligence after the first floods, we might not be in this situation.

“The residents of uMdloti want assurances there is a plan to stop this from happening again. We know there are more rains coming which could lead to more destruction. What if this happens again? If you look at aerial footage of the town after the storms, you’ll see the metric tons of sand all over uMdloti,” he said.

In a post on their Facebook page, Salta Sibaya states, “The Salta Sibaya developers in conjunction with our contractors have always maintained the highest levels in planning and implementation, with strict compliance to all national and municipal laws and any applicable bylaws.”