By Lloyd Govindsamy
The road to recovery for Tongaat and surrounding areas in the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast has been derailed by torrential rainfall that caused more flooding over the weekend, leading to more residents being evacuated and housed in community halls amid fears of their houses and flats collapsing.
Critical infrastructure that had been awaiting repairs, following the April floods, were further damaged by the earth moving mudslides which have brought the residents of Tongaat and surrounding areas to their knees. Weeks without running water and electricity has left residents begging for relief as they work on rebuilding their lives.
With destruction and mayhem across the North Coast eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, has conducted a tour of uMdloti to assess the extent of the damages. “We had to prioritise visiting uMdloti given the severity of the damage in this area. Our water treatment plant has been damaged and this will affect our ability to provide water to residents in this area. I call upon residents to be patient as we work speedily to restore key services,” said Kaunda.
He said municipal emergency services remain on high alert even though the intensity of the rain in most areas of eThekwini has now subsided. “Various municipal teams are working round the clock to assist communities and to restore key services. Various roads were damaged and some were affected by mudslides. Teams were dispatched to remove rubble, trees and mudslides. The amount of rain was extensive and as such the drainage systems were severely affected. Despite this, some roads have re-opened for traffic. Currently, there are 82 care centres accommodating displaced people across the city.”
Kaunda said there has been several outages throughout the city caused by the heavy rains, however, many of them have since been attended to. “Electricity infrastructure is still vulnerable since the April floods and any amount of rain can cause further damage to it. Electricity teams are prioritizing fault repairs across the city, specially those faults that affect large areas. The Water treatment works in uMdloti was flooded. Areas such as Mosely Park, Gillits and KwaNdengezi are also affected by water outages. We are still assessing whether these heavy rains had an impact on the work we had already started in oThongathi.”
Businesses, recreational centres and homes are destroyed. Some are left homeless and have no choice but to move into an, already over crowded, shelter for destitute flood victims. Affected communities in and around Tongaat share their gruesome stories and most horrific fears.
For 54-year-old Emona resident, Zandile Khumalo, Saturday’s heavy rains brought nothing but destruction and tears. “I’ve lived in this unsteady home all my life. Every rain, no matter how light it is, leaves us terrified. Many in our community live in mud, wood and plastic houses. We were told not to build or modify our houses as we will soon be moved to public housing. Our homes are not structures secure enough for people to live in. I’ve registered for an RDP house many years ago. I don’t think I’ll ever see it.”
Khumalo said the rain caused one section of her house to fall. A room where her two teenaged daughters were in. One escaped unharmed and the other is in Osindisweni hospital with a broken arm and leg injury. “I was in the other room when the incident occurred. My daughters explained they felt the house shake and saw it crumble from one side. They tried their best to rush out and I’m grateful one of my children was unharmed, but devastated that the other is in hospital. The latest news is that the extent of her injuries are so server that she needs to be transported and treated at Addington Hospital.”
Younis Vilakazi, another resident of Emona, said her biggest fear is walking into her home during a flood and never walking back out. The 73-year-old said she lives in a house made of wood and mud and fears for her safety as she has nowhere else to go. “I’ve seen the damage caused by the heavy rain and keep wondering if my home will withstand the next flood. When I saw my neighbour’s house fall and her child rushed to hospital I thought ‘Will I be next?’ Its a very sad situation as most of us are on a waiting list for the RPD Sunhill houses for years.”
Ward 61 councillor, Dolly Munien said the people of the Emona informal settlement are left with no support from the government. “Old and unemployed members of the community, such as Younis, were supposed to be given priority for housing. However, deserving people didn’t get those houses. Those responsible for allocating houses gave it to their friends leaving people in this community to suffer during the floods.”
