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45 dead, hundreds missing as floods wreak havoc in South Africa

At least 45 people have been confirmed dead with hundreds missing as several homes collapse due to overnight floods caused by heavy rain in the South Africa coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The South African emergency service said in a statement on Tuesday, rescue workers were searching for missing people but the task has been difficult due to destruction of roads by mudslides.

“Some people in the city managed to climb up to their rooftops awaiting rescue, but local media report that only one helicopter was available to lift people away as key roads across the city were shut,” the agency said.

The mayor of eThekwini, an area including Durban and its surrounding towns, Mxolisi Kaunda, in a message of solidarity, apologised to residents who were left stranded after the emergency call centre was overwhelmed overnight.

Kaunda said efforts were underway to restore water and electricity supplies to parts of the city, after most of the city’s electricity power stations were flooded on Monday evening and a number of water treatment plants damaged.

“Residents who fear their homes may collapse should seek shelter in community halls,” the Mayor stated.

At least 180 people have died in the West Indian state of Maharashtra after torrential monsoon rains caused landslides and flooded low-lying areas cut off hundreds of villages.

38 people were confirmed dead in Taliye, 18km South-East of India’s financial capital, Mumbai, when a landslide flattened most of the small village, state government officials said on Tuesday.

A representative from the state’s Disaster Management, Relief, and Rehabilitation Department told journalists that 27 persons had died in the Satara district in the last 48 hours.

In nine other landslides in parts of Maharashtra, 59 people died and another 15 were killed in accidents linked to the heavy rainfall, officials said.

Another 84 deaths were recorded in the coastal district of Raigad, an official with the National Disaster Response Force said on Monday.

The toll increased after 31 people who were reported missing after Thursday’s landslide had been confirmed dead.

Maharashtra and neighboring states of Goa, Karnataka, and Telangana had faced heavy rainfall since last Thursday.