South Africa: Nearly 400 dead from deadly floods

LAST UPDATE: 14:45

The death toll from the deadly floods in South Africa has now risen to nearly 400, mostly in the east coast of Durban, local authorities have said.

“A total of 40,723 people have been affected. Unfortunately, the death toll continues to rise, with the latest death toll at 395,” the East KwaZulu-Natal Directorate of Cooperation and Traditional Affairs said in a statement.

Most of the victims are in the Durban region, the largest African port in the Indian Ocean. It was the focus of heavy rains that began last weekend. A state of disaster has been declared in it.

The rains, the heaviest that have hit the country for more than 60 years, destroyed bridges, flooded roads, cut off much of the area. More than 250 schools were damaged, thousands of homes destroyed. Authorities are talking about costs of hundreds of millions of euros.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life” in South Africa.

The meteorological service warns that new rains are expected and there is a risk of floods locally during the three days of Easter of the catholics. Rainfall is expected mainly in the neighboring counties of Free State (central) and Eastern Cape (southeast).

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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