South Africa: at least 253 dead in the country’s worst floods – Le Monde

A road gutted by bad weather, Tuesday, April 12, in Durban, South Africa. PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP At least 253 people have been killed in the floods that have hit the east coast of South Africa in recent days, according to the latest report released on Wednesday, April 13, by local authorities. According to the representative of the health department of the province of Kwazul-Natal, the bodies continue to flow into the morgues, while dozens of people are still missing. Collapsed bridges, submerged roads… In the vicinity of Durban, the large port city that has become the epicenter of the disaster, landslides have left giant breaches. “In 48 hours, more than 450 mm of water fell in certain areas,” forecaster Dipuo Tawana told AFP. Meteorologists compared the level of precipitation to that “normally associated with cyclones”. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visits Clermont, a poor suburb of Durban, on April 13, 2022. PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP “We see similar tragedies hitting Mozambique, Zimbabwe, but today it is we who are affected, ”lamented the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who went on Wednesday morning to bereaved families in Clermont, a poor suburb of Durban. Local authorities are calling for a state of natural disaster to be declared. “It’s climate change that’s getting worse” The army was mobilized to provide air support during the evacuations. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and at least 140 schools affected, according to local authorities. Bad weather has caused many roads to be blocked. Activity at the port had to be suspended, containers were washed away. Authorities reported looting. The heavy rains also led to power cuts and disrupted water supplies. Rail links have been suspended and residents have been told to avoid travel. “We know that it is climate change that is getting worse, we have gone from extreme storms in 2017, to supposed record floods in 2019, but clearly exceeded today in 2022”, warned Mary Galvin, professor of Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg. In 2019, floods in the region and the neighboring province of Eastern Cape had already claimed 70 lives and devastated several coastal villages in mudslides. To not miss any African news, subscribe to the “Monde Afrique” newsletter from this link. Every Saturday at 6 a.m., find a week of news and debates covered by the editorial staff of Le Monde Afrique. Le Monde and AFP