Search for more than 60 missing people in North Africa’s floods
Search operations are continuing for 63 people still missing following the devastating floods that swept through South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province last week.
More than 440 people have died, including two emergency workers.
Some of them were swept away by swollen rivers and mudslides.
The government has declared KwaZulu-Natal a disaster area after officials described the floods as some of the worst to ever hit the province.
KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said that nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed in the floods and more than 8,000 were damaged, most in the coastal city of Durban and its surrounding areas.
Both the police and army were involved in the search effort, with six more bodies recovered on Sunday, local media reported.
One woman, Lethiwe Sibiya, said her niece had not yet been found.
“When the mudslide happened she was washed away. We don’t know where she is. We have tried to get police and their dogs but till today they have not come,” she said.
Nearly 300 schools and some health facilities have also been damaged.
Some communities are completely cut off because roads and bridges have collapsed.
“We don’t have electricity in many, many areas,” said Imtiaz Syed, the leader of the Active Citizens’ Coalition. He said the group is looking at how they can help people clean up their homes and get access to clean water.
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