‘All I could see were waves of water and trees flying all over’: KZN’s flood horror

Baduvile Zungu’s eyes were opened to the sheer wrath of Mother Nature when her family narrowly escaped with nothing more than their lives on Monday night.

The 74-year-old grandmother and her children lost all their belongings when waves of muddy water and debris gushed through their informal settlement in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, destroying everything in their wake and leaving them completely exposed to the elements.

Zungu’s plight was brought about after torrential downpours in KwaZulu-Natal since Sunday, which have killed at least 45 people — including seven children — and left hundreds displaced.

Seated on a thin mattress inside a community hall in Ntuzuma, Zungu recalled the force of the water which, in a matter of seconds, swallowed all their possessions and left them destitute.

Zungu said she had been staying at her daughter’s home when disaster stuck.

“It’s normal that I go and spend nights at my daughter’s place; it’s not because it was raining. I heard this massive noise and when I went outside all I could see were waves of water and trees flying all over. There was one big tree coming with the flood and it was headed directly towards us.”

Zungu said a veranda pillar saved their lives.

“Had it not been for that pillar we would have been crushed by that tree. I screamed for my son because he was still in the house when the water began entering. He luckily escaped and climbed into a nearby dilapidated building where he was safe.”

She said they remained stranded on a piece of land for what felt like hours as they watched their belongings vanish beneath the water.

“Members of the community helped us get to safety but we lost everything. Our money, IDs, documents, my Sassa card, cellphones — everything we owned. I am just thankful and grateful to God that my family made it out alive. There are many people who have lost loved ones during this flood.”

According to the SA Weather Service, more than 300mm of rain was recorded over a 24-hour period ending on Tuesday morning in Mount Edgecombe and Virginia, as well as Pennington and Margate on the KZN south coast.

Ntuzuma falls within the Mount Edgecombe and Virgina catchment area.

Thick layers of mud and stone lined the streets on Tuesday, while fallen trees and brush made it difficult to navigate through the area, which borders Inanda and KwaMashu.

A washed-away bridge created a massive gap spanning more than 15m in width and breadth, acting as a reminder of nature’s brutal force.

According to locals, a portion of Ntuzuma Road collapsed as the stream below grew into a raging river, removing all obstacles in its path.

Residents claimed that a minibus taxi and another vehicle were swept off the road on Monday before it collapsed.

Sizwe Mncube, 24, could not believe what he witnessed when he arrived on the scene.

“My cousins stay in this area. When they called me and told me what happened I didn’t believe them, I had to come see for myself. I still can’t believe it.”

Trees, which lined the banks of the stream, were entirely flattened as hundreds of plastic bottles, waste and metal scraps were forced downstream and pushed up over the banks into people’s homes.

People filtered through the waste and scrap in the hope of finding some of their lost belongings.

“Life must go on,” a woman muttered while carting pots and pans, covered in mud, to an overflow of water to wash them.

Outside the Ntuzuma cemetery locals were horrified to witness human skeletal remains when passing by on Tuesday morning.

Dozens of grave sites were disturbed during a mudslide which struck a portion of the cemetery.

An official, not authorised to speak to the media, said the graves were of people who had been buried in the 1970s.

By Tuesday afternoon most of the bones had been collected by members of police.

KZN MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Sipho Hlomuka said on Tuesday that at least 45 people had died since torrential rains hit the province since Sunday. The department said the figure was expected to rise, as mop-up operations continued and more incidents were reported. The provincial education department said seven pupils and a teacher had died in the floods.

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