Provincial authorities are calling for municipalities to strictly enforce by-laws prohibiting building on riverbanks, following a devastating flash flood in the uMshwathi Local Municipality that left one woman dead and two others missing.
The heavy rains that struck the New Hanover area in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Sunday night caused extensive damage to homes and roads. Tragically, three people were swept away by the sudden surge of water.
On Monday, rescue teams recovered the body of a woman believed to be in her forties. The search continues for two missing individuals: a 27-year-old woman from Duo and one other.
According to neighbours, the 27-year-old attempted to escape the rising waters, but the powerful currents of the river swept away the room she was renting while she was still inside.
A family member, who asked not to be named, described the devastating impact. “We heard about this around 11. We are told she held on to a tree when her room collapsed. But the water was too strong. Even the foundation of the house was washed away,” they said.
The family expressed a desperate hope to find their missing relative. “We’re hoping to join the search and find her even if it’s just an arm so we can have a closure. The whole family is devastated and it has made my mother very sick.”
The incident has prompted a strong response from officials. A spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance confirmed that seven districts across the province were affected by the heavy rains, with the uMshwathi local municipality being the hardest hit.
The spokesperson issued a direct call to action for municipalities, stating that stronger measures are needed against illegal housing developments in high-risk areas.
“As government, we need to enforce by-laws now on a much stricter level because even the people where they have built, the municipality had not given permission for them to build there but they built there in any case,” the spokesperson said. “Therefore we are calling on municipalities across the province to enforce by-laws strictly because that is what is going to save lives.”
Search and rescue teams report that the operation to locate the two missing individuals is being hampered by a large amount of debris clogging the river. The storms have left a trail of destruction, with authorities confirming that more than 100 residents have been left homeless.