As KwaZulu-Natal braces for more severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours on Monday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for an urgent inspection of the province's Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
According to the South African Weather Service (Saws), more thunderstorms and rain are expected over the northern parts of KZN.
"A steep upper-air system is expected to affect the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape, parts of KZN, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and Limpopo until Thursday. The public is advised that stormy conditions such as severe thunderstorms and disruptive rainfall leading to flooding can be expected in places," Saws warned.
Over the weekend, five fatalities have been confirmed in the eThekwini Metro, while two people have been reported missing. Two people died in the Folweni area after a retaining wall collapsed on their structure.
According to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), another person was confirmed dead in uMlazi’s K Section due to structural collapse.
"In another incident in Tongaat, two family members died when their shack collapsed on them during the heavy rains. Two more people went missing after floods washed away their informal structure in Tongaat," Cogta said in a statement on Sunday.
Cogta MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, said at least 320 homes were affected.
The DA's Martin Meyer said the oversight visit will establish the province's state of preparedness and functionality.
"The call to the Cogta chairperson also comes as the DMC remains unprepared for disaster and is critically understaffed and underfunded, while coordination with district disaster centres appears haphazard. This, despite two devastating floods in KZN in 2022," Meyer said.
He said government has a duty to protect the province's people from the impact of climate change.
Meanwhile, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has visited storm-battered parts of the region.
The northern part of the city was the hardest hit, including areas such as uMhlanga, Verulam, uThongathi, and Phoenix. Other reported areas that were affected in the south include uMlazi, Chatsworth and Folweni.
IOL