By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Christmas Eve flash floods in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, have mercilessly claimed lives and disrupted the town’s infrastructure, with the death toll steadily rising from 10 to 12.
This grim update comes as rescue teams, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) search and rescue units and SAPS K9 units, redouble their efforts in a race against time.
The discovery of the bodies of two women and a man, as well as that of Kenneth Malaton and his three-year-old son, Kale, had initially brought the death toll to 11. Malaton’s nine-year-old daughter has also tragically died in the flood.
The search would be expanded from Friday after the body of an adult female was recovered in a river several kilometres out of town.
“We actually recovered a body about 15 kilometres out of town and in the Klip River area, so it’s been a big area…,” said IPSS search and rescue member Tereza van den Berg.
The flash flood occurred after Ladysmith was hit by a storm, leading to a sudden overflow of Bell’s Spruit and the Klip River.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has offered support to the families of the flood victims in Ladysmith.
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Nomusa Dube-Ncube has extended her condolences to the families of the flood victims in the province.
“On behalf of the provincial government, we would like to send our condolences to the families of the victims. The MEC for Cooperative Governance Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi has already been on the ground to assess the damage and meet with the families,” said the Premier.
She visited the scene on Wednesday to oversee the distribution of disaster relief and monitor the ongoing search and rescue operations.
The MEC said provincial government will offer support to the families of the flood victims in Ladysmith.
“We met with the families of the victims and reassured them that government will provide full support during this distressing period,” said Sithole-Moloi.
The search and rescue teams have been intensified and will work tirelessly in their efforts to find the missing victims.
As of Wednesday, the search and rescue teams led by the SAPS K9 Unit, along with IPSS Medical Rescue and the Al-Imdaad Foundation for Disaster Response, intensified their search efforts in the Ladysmith area.
This after the number of missing individuals continues to rise.
Sithole-Moloi paid a visit to the Msimango family in the Rossboom area, a few kilometres from Ladysmith Town. The Msimango family lost six of its members, with three being discovered while the other three remain among those missing.
She further led the delegation of disaster teams that distributed disaster relief, including blankets, mattresses and essential amenities, to those who have lost everything.
“As a department, we have been providing assistance to all the affected families in collaboration with our disaster response partners.
“We are joined by various departments such as Human Settlements and Social Development, with representatives from the National Department also present. We wish to assure the affected families that we will stand by them throughout this difficult period.
“Counselling services will be made available, and preparations for the burials of those who have passed away are underway. Moreover, we want to assure the families that we will exert every effort to locate those who are still missing,” said the MEC.
As standard procedure, the disaster management teams will continue their assessments, working closely with all municipalities in the province.
Home Affairs and Social Development Department have been called in to provide support where some families have lost personal documents.