Several Durban families are reeling after the devastating loss of loved ones to floods triggered by heavy rains that lashed parts of the city on Tuesday night.
Three children — Snokhanya, 16, Olwethu, 6, and Lusenathi, 10, Dingiswayo — and two elderly women from the Gwala road informal settlements in Lamontville, south of the city, were swept away during the heavy overnight rainfall.
The bodies of the children and one woman, Lucia Ndobongo, were recovered at Cuttings and Ansteys beaches on Wednesday. The search for 60-year old Zondeni Gcabashe continues.
Ntombikhona Mhlongo, Gcabashe’s daughter, told TimesLIVE Premium her mom was among a group who sought shelter on higher ground. She said the rain started at around 8pm but got stronger and started to flood their houses flanking the Umlazi River. By 11pm several people went in search of a safer space.
“We were hoping we would be safer if we went to higher ground on the other side of [Gwala] road, but to get there we had to fight against the strong current, as well as the debris, including tree logs, that came with it,” she said.
They devised a strategy of holding on to each other with one hand while the other hand would grab on to something fixed to the ground, she said. But the group was hit by a tree log and six people were washed into the river.
“They slipped away from us and we could not go after them because we would be swept away as well. My mother and my neighbours were washed away right in front of my eyes, I watched them and there was nothing I could do,” she said.
“We had been fighting all the way and we were so close to the road, but I think since they were mainly children and she was an elderly, they were already tiring. The log was an obstacle to many of them.”
She found a huge tree trunk she managed to hold on to and started screaming for help, hoping her voice would be heard above the heavy downpours and gushing waters.
“I decided I wasn't moving any further as well. If that trunk was swept away then it would have been the end of me. I called for help and fortunately three men came and rescued us. I don’t even know who they are or where they came from.”
Among the six who were swept away, only a 14-year old boy managed to come back.
A reeling Lulamile Dingiswayo, mother of the three children, was told Snokhanya had been carrying her brother Olwethu, while Lusenathi was holding on to her hand when the group was swept away.
She said she didn’t see the children leave the house as she was still trying to collect valuables like identity documents and birth certificates after waking them up.
“We thought the kids were safe because they were with other neighbours and we were going to follow right behind them anyway, so we continued trying to salvage what we could,” she said.
A short while later, water had risen so high that their door could not be opened.
We asked the municipality to move us away from here because it was not safe but nothing happened. There are underground cables that run underneath here to other parts of Lamontville, in addition to the two rivers that surround us. They said they would make a plan — that was back in 2022
— Ntombikhona Mhlongo, daughter of Zondeni Gcabashe
“We were trapped inside and couldn’t escape through the windows either because of the burglar guards. We just started praying.”
She said Snokhanya had recently been awarded a tablet for doing well in mathematics and physical science in grade 11.
She is struggling to come to terms with what had happened, she said.
“I was locked here thinking they were safer, while they were fighting for their lives. It hurts a lot. I don’t believe. I don’t want to accept it. I’m very hurt.”
The families were part of more than 100 who were moved into the area from nearby Mega Village, next to Umlazi Mega City, after devastating floods in 2021. They were told their stay would be temporary while a permanent solution was sought.
Mhlongo said they were also affected by the April 2022 floods and she was prepared to remain in the community shelters for an extended time until being moved to a better place, but her family decided to come back after they were threatened their allocated shack would be given to someone else.
She said the area was “trapped” between two rivers, one flowing from Swinton on one side and the Umlazi River on the other side.
“We asked the municipality to move us away from here because it was not safe but nothing happened. There are underground cables that run underneath here to other parts of Lamontville, in addition to the two rivers that surround us. They said they would make a plan — that was back in 2022.”
She added she was hoping the government would help bury her mother, who was a domestic worker and the breadwinner in the house.
Dingiswayo said the recent rainfall left greater damage to her family than the catastrophic 2022 floods because there was no loss of life then.
Mayor Cyril Xaba said the local ward councillor had informed them the area was not prone to such situations and it was the first time it experienced flooding to such levels.
“This area was safe until this floods, so there was nothing that suggested that this area would ever be flooded in this way. It’s such an unfortunate situation,” he said.
“Hindsight is a teacher sometimes, but all along we never entertained any fear because this area survived in 2022 and there was no problem.”
He said the city has a problem of land shortage and a pushback from communities in areas where they had managed to identify land.
“Our problem as a city is that we don’t have land, yet we have over 500 informal settlements who need to be relocated. Even if we identify land in some of the areas, there is this ‘not in my backyard' syndrome. The communities there go up in arms and question why these people are brought their neighbourhoods.”
KZN co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi warned that the survivors of this disaster are still highly exposed. He said the immediate plan is to evacuate 270 people from the area while working on longer-term options.
“We will consolidate all our efforts so that in the short term we can provide an alternative shelter to the families, but in the long term we must look at where to settle our people so that they are not exposed to such disasters — and look at finding climate change-resilient infrastructure,” he said.
Human settlements and transport MEC Siboniso Duma reiterated the land shortage in eThekwini but confirmed they have identified land in Shallcross, among other areas, to move them to, while also looking at resettling others to rural areas.
“The circumference in eThekwini does not allow us to build anywhere, which is why at this point we want to move people not to affluent nor urban areas but to areas under amakhosi, where we must start identifying a proper land so that we can build proper structures. Recreational activities, schools and clinics must be also in that area," he said.
Last week nine people died when heavy rains triggered a mudslide and floods in parts of KZN.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.