The body of an elderly woman was found on Friday and rescue workers were still searching for 10 more people who were washed away during floods in Inanda, north of Durban.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha the body was found in a small river in the area. He said rescue workers were still searching for the other seven people believed to have been swept away on Thursday night.
Police search-and-rescue spokesperson Inspector Troy Allison said the search for the seven, who were washed off a bridge, would continue while light lasted on Friday.
Intensive aerial searches had been conducted throughout the day, but police would continue the search on foot at first light on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the search for three of the four family members who were washed away in their shack in the Bhambayi informal settlement in Inanda was called off on Friday evening due to poor light, said Superintendent Vincent Mdunge. He said the search would also resume early on Saturday.
”Apparently the four members of the family were asleep when the storm started and washed the shack away,” he said.
Mdunge said it was believed that a 43-year-old mother, two daughters aged 26 and 18, and a two-year-old nephew were in the shack. ”They were all washed away by the storm.”
The body of the 26-year-old woman was found, but a police search-and-rescue team was still searching for the others.
Eleven families were affected by flooding in the informal settlement and lost all their possessions.
Other parts of the region were also affected by the storm. A fire was reported in the Siyanda informal settlement area at midnight on Thursday, apparently caused by lightning.
Mdunge said the strong winds damaged many shacks and an unknown number of people were injured. A number of houses were destroyed at Number Nine in KwaXimba outside Pietermaritzburg. The number of people injured in the region was not known.
Emergency services said the storm also caused damage in the Durban area on Thursday night.
ER24 spokesperson Neil Noble said the two-hour storm at about 9pm on Thursday caused severe flooding, leading to several flooded roads and causing accidents and other disruptions in the Durban area. Heavy winds damaged roofs and caused trees to fall across roadways. — Sapa