- Unusually heavy rain has caused devastation in South Africa’s coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal.
- According to the authorities, at least 45 people have died and many more are missing.
- The rescue work is difficult because many roads have been washed away.
The region around the port city of Durban is particularly affected. Containers have been washed away there.
According to the regional government, around 100 school buildings were damaged – students and teachers were stuck in one for hours before the evacuation. The military is deployed to provide disaster relief. Property damage in the millions is feared.
Landslides and downed cell towers
The situation is made more difficult by the failure of hundreds of radio masts, landslides and an infrastructure that can hardly absorb the water masses.
The electricity company Eskom is also affected by the storm – for example by flotsam that has gotten into the turbines of power plants. For the evening he has ordered targeted power cuts in entire regions to avoid a collapse of the national power grid.
The country at the southern tip of Africa is currently in the grip of an extreme weather situation that brings with it a disproportionate amount of humidity in a very short time.