House collapses on woman in Tropical Storm Irina

A house collapsed on a woman breaking both her legs in Jozini in the Nyawushadi area on Sunday morning, after floods hit northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Co-operative governance spokesman Vernon Mchunu said emergency services were negotiating through mud and dirt in a bid to reach Phumaphi Makhaye, 56.

Mchunu could not give figures of families that were displaced and people who were injured as disaster teams were still quantifying the damage. He estimated that about 300 houses had been flooded.

On Saturday the SA Weather Service reported that tropical storm Irina would result in heavy falls of rain over the extreme southern parts of Mozambique, Swaziland, Mpumalanga and the east coast of South Africa, which would create the risk of flooding.

"Very rough seas with wave heights in excess of 4 - 6 metres are also expected from Richards Bay to Maputo," said SA Weather services spokeswoman Hannelee Doubell.

Rescue operations were underway in various parts of the northern coastal parts of the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

"At the moment we are hard at work assisting people whose houses have been flooded. Moves are being made to also evacuate others to safety," said co-operative governance MEC Nomusa Dube.

She said provincial government was in the process of organising temporary housing units for displaced families.