The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs issued a warning late on Sunday, 7 January, that residents could expect “widespread showers and thundershowers over the province this evening, with significant amounts of rainfall accumulation in most areas, leading to risk of flooding”.

“This may result in flooding of roads, settlements and low-lying areas, potentially causing bridge and road closures. Residents may expect disruptions to traffic flow due to major roads being flooded or blocked by fallen trees,” the department said.

On Saturday, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, the KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, confirmed that 40 people were killed and five are still missing after storms and floods besieged the province over December and January.

A total of 74 people have been injured. About 247 homes were destroyed and 800 homes suffered damage.

“We would like to commend our search and rescue teams, who continue to work tirelessly on the ground to locate those reported missing. While the loss of loved ones is a painful experience, we find solace in the closure that comes when search and rescue teams recover the remains of those who were missing.

Azola Ndila, 17-year-old from the Fraser informal settlement, goes to collect water. (Photo: Chris Makhaye)

Floodwater damage in KZN. (Photo: Supplied)

“Some families have already laid their loved ones to rest, and as a department, we have been by their side, providing support. We also wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured,” Sithole-Moloi said.

She added that recent fatalities include three reported drownings in the Harry Gwala District and two farmworkers who were struck by lightning in Bergville.

“We would also like to confirm that two people have been discovered by the search and rescue teams in Ladysmith. However, their identities are pending confirmation through DNA if it matches with the ones reported missing.”

Police confirmed that a 39-year-old traditional healer drowned in the Laycentre River in Edendale on 26 December. She was performing cleansing rituals with 15 other people when she was swept away.

Police also confirmed that another three people were added to the statistics after their vehicle was swept into Henley Dam in Plessislaer on 1 January during flooding.

JoJo tanks from the eThekwini Municipality in Tongaat. Here, residents can fill up their water containers. The town and surrounding areas have had intermittent water supply since the April/May 2022 floods, during which the Tongaat Reservoir burst and required extensive and costly repairs and reinstallation. (Photo: Chris Makhaye)

eThekwini Municipality water works staff fit pipes to restore the water supply in Tongaat. (Photo: Chris Makhaye)

‘Nobody expected it’

On New Year’s Eve, floods swept across many parts of the province, including parts of the Ndwedwe Local Municipality, which falls under the iLembe District Municipality.

When Daily Maverick visited the area on Friday, rescue workers, emergency services and NGOs were still helping community members affected by the floods, which destroyed roads, bridges and even electricity infrastructure, leaving community members stranded without water, food and electricity.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Six die in Christmas Eve KZN flood, with Level 2 warnings of more heavy rain in five provinces

In other areas of Ndwedwe, bridges and roads that were damaged in the 2022 floods suffered further damage, cutting off some residents.

Ntuthuko Sibiya (67), who lives in a village near the Osindisweni Hospital, said he has been unable to fetch his medication after the road linking his village to the hospital was damaged.

But it is Ladysmith, the northern KZN town in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality, that has suffered the most death, injuries and destruction in the flash floods.

A Fraser informal settlement resident carries water from a tanker. (Photo:Chris Makhaye)

Nothembile Phetheni, an senior resident of the Fraser informal settlement, collects water. Residents say water tankers sent by the eThekwini Municipality arrive at irregular intervals. (Photo: Chris Makhaye)

Of the 40 lives lost in the floods, 22 are from Ladysmith, including seven members of one family. Three adults and four children from the Msimango family died after heavy rains caused the Bellspruit River to burst its banks.

The town is prone to flooding but the December floods have been the most devastating.

Alfred Duma Local Municipality Mayor Zama Sibisi attended some of the emotionally charged funerals. She said the floods were so sudden and so severe that “nobody expected the streams to overflow”. Sibisi added that her municipality was doing everything to mitigate the impact, including assisting the families of the victims.

Sibisi said: “There is not much we can do as a municipality because nobody expected that stream to overflow. Usually we have a problem when it is raining and the river flooding the town and it is not the case in these previously heavy rains. 

“The town did not flood which means we want to believe that what we are trying to do to reduce the flooding is working for us.”

Families of the victims have been identifying and burying loved ones over the past two weeks. 

Shaun Marwalal and Clive Reddy, residents of the Fraser informal settlement, collect water from a JoJo tank. (Photo: Chris Makhaye)

Lasting impact

The floods could have a lasting impact on local infrastructure. In Tongaat on 5 January the eThekwini Municipality water department was busy trying to fix a burst pipe.

Don Permal, of the Tongaat Residents Association, said the December floods had exacerbated a situation that started after the April/May 2022 floods, which claimed more than 300 lives and caused huge damage to infrastructure, including the Tongaat water reservoir.

Read more in Daily Maverick: A Perfect Storm: How the deadly 2022 Durban floods hold crucial lessons for the future of the city and others like it

“Even after the reservoir had been fixed, we have had an intermittent water supply,” Permal said.

“Residents here are very angry at the eThekwini Municipality. We are lucky enough if we have three days of uninterrupted water supply. Every now and again, the pipes burst and we would not have water for days.”

He continued: “All that the municipality is doing is patchwork… They fix and the pipes burst elsewhere.”

Flood damage in KZN. (Photo: Supplied)

An overturned car at a flood hotspot in KZN. (Photo: Supplied)

Some of the flood damage to KZN infrastructure. (Photo: Supplied)

“Residents want a clear line of communication between themselves and the municipality so that we can know what is the problem and pre-plan because even when they send water tankers, we don’t know when they are coming and when they are not. On Sunday, we had a huge meeting where residents want to stage a protest against the municipality,” Perumal said.

Nothembile Phetheni (63) was one of the people waiting to fetch water that had been filled by a water tanker. 

“Our lives have been very hard. We are lucky if we see a water tanker twice a week … We go some days, even a week without water. When the tankers come, they do so at uneven times … People who are not here who are working lose out just like that. We are pleading for our government to do something about our plight,” she said. DM