JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Flooding in the South African metropolitan city of Durban has killed at least 259 people and is “a catastrophe of enormous proportions,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday.
“This disaster is part of climate change. It’s telling us that climate change is serious, it’s here,” Ramaphosa said during a visit to the flooded areas of Durban and the eThekwini metropolitan area.
“We can no longer postpone what we need to do, and the measures we need to take to deal with climate change,” he declared.
The death toll is expected to continue to rise as search and rescue operations continue in KwaZulu-Natal province, officials said. The national government is about to declare the province a disaster zone, Ramaphosa said.
“KwaZulu-Natal will be declared a disaster area, so we can get things done faster. Bridges have collapsed, roads have collapsed, people have died and people have been injured,” the president said.
He added that a family had lost 10 of its members due to the floods.
Residents have had to flee their homes which have been swept away by torrents, buildings have collapsed and road infrastructure has been severely damaged. The port of Durban was flooded and shipping containers have been left in piles after being washed away.
Authorities were also trying to restore power to large parts of the province after many power plants were flooded.
Rescue efforts by the South African National Defense Force were delayed because the army’s air branch was also affected by the floods, General Rudzani Maphwanya said. The army was able to deploy personnel and helicopters across the province on Wednesday, he said.
The South African Weather Service has warned that winds and rains will continue and the risk of further flooding in Kwazulu-Natal and other provinces over the coming Easter weekend. In addition, South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Free State and North West provinces could be affected, it said.