Photo: Deutsche Welle/ADRIAN KRIESCH / copyright
The death toll after the historic floods that hit South Africa increased this Sunday (17. 04.2022) and zooms in on 450, according to a new balance, while dozens of people are still missing.
The Durban region , a port city of 3.5 million inhabitants on the east coast, was the most affected and concentrated the majority of the victims. Rainfall caused major flooding and deadly landslides.
“The death toll rose to 443”, declared Sihle Zikalala, minister of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where Durban is located. Some 63 people are still missing.
In a matter of seconds, many families lost several of their members due to the floods. Children and babies drowned or were buried by landslides and many are still missing.
In recent days, ministers, tribal chiefs, the Zulu king Misuzulu Zulu and President Cyril Ramaphosa have gone to the affected places to assess the extent of the damage and support the families of the victims.
afp/reuters/dpa / rr