One child was confirmed dead and five others were missing on Wednesday morning on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast following a heavy downpour, police said.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter-Wiid said a child — who had been on his way to school on Wednesday morning — slipped and fell into a river in Hibberdene.
”He was swept away and the drowning was confirmed,” said Hechter-Wiid.
She said another five children were reported missing in the Boboyi area, outside Port Shepstone.
The police and rescue crews were searching for them, she said.
”The downpour has damaged scores of homes and at least 40 people in Umzinto and 60 people in Ifafa were evacuated [on Tuesday night],” she said.
Police search-and-rescue spokesperson Jack Haskins said some residents were even rescued from rooftops.
Haskins said they had also received reports of cars and motorists being washed away, but this could not be confirmed.
”There were a lot of washaways last night, rivers burst their banks, bridges were washed away and a lot of structural damage was done around the South Coast,” he said.
”Right now water levels at all the rivers are extremely high,” he said.
No injuries had been reported thus far, he said.
Hibiscus Coast protection services head Victor Chetty said heavy downpours had resulted in homes being damaged and low-lying bridges being flooded.
He said at least 200 people had been taken to community halls for shelter in the Ugu district.
An unnamed official from the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) said the Umzinto bridge had collapsed but that no injuries were reported.
Motorists travelling in the area were urged to be exercise caution.
Durban’s East Cost radio reported that three people on a yacht off Ifafa Beach were airlifted to safety on Tuesday afternoon.
The National Sea Rescue Institute reported that the crew was sailing from Port Edward to Durban when they ran into difficulties in gale-force winds.
Meanwhile in Durban, hundreds of motorists were caught in traffic for nearly two hours on Wednesday as mudslides and water puddles were reported throughout the Ethekwini region.
A deep puddle on the Albert Luthuli Highway — near the Victoria Embankment off-ramp — covered two of three lanes and motorists had to be diverted into the third lane.
Metro police urged motorists to use alternate routes during the course of the day.
The Durban Weather Bureau reported that the downpour would continue throughout the day. – Sapa