03-05-2025
Mudslide displaces 200 Umlazi residents
At least 200 people, including 60 children, who were displaced after the Umlazi mudslides this week have been relocated to a facility on Dr Pixley KaSeme Street in Durban.
Mudslides, caused by heavy rain in Durban this week, destroyed 56 homes in Umlazi's H Section forcing the immediate evacuation of the families.
Speaking to Weekend Witness, one of the victims, Amokuhle Ngcobo, said that they were relocated to a building on West Street on Thursday.
She said their problems started after the heavy rains before Easter.
'After the rain, houses started to crack, and the soil started to shift. As we observed this, houses started to fall one by one.
'It was horrific because we have children. In my home alone, I stayed with my mom, two brothers and two sisters, and we all have children — 10 altogether.
'We feared for the worst, and we started contacting ward committees, and the councillors got involved.
'People in leadership positions were quick to respond to our plight, and an assessment was done, and it was concluded that we needed to move away from the place, as the structural integrity of the remaining houses was compromised,' said Ngcobo.
She said people were moved in batches to their respective accommodation.
On Friday, the evacuation process continued.
In a joint statement, the KZN Transport and Human Settlements departments, and eThekwini Municipality, said evacuation efforts for the affected residents continued until 2am on Friday.
Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said he received an evacuation report at 3am and confirmed that the evacuation process would resume at 9am on Friday.
He said an additional 144 residents, including children, were yesterday accommodated at the Lagoon Centre in Amanzimtoti.
He said they inspected the self-catering accommodation on Thursday afternoon and were satisfied with its condition.
'This facility will help them recover from the traumatic experience of living in collapsing houses.
'The team is working with the ward committee to finalise the evacuation of the remaining 72 people, some of whom are at work and others are living with relatives elsewhere.
'We continue with the verification process to ensure that nobody is left behind,' he said.
Regarding the displaced children, Duma said they were working with the Department of Education to ensure that scholar transport is provided to the pupils.
The cracked and collapsed houses will be demolished and electrical cables will be removed.
During a visit to the area on Thursday, Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane ordered the immediate evacuation of families whose homes had collapsed or were structurally unsafe.
'Within two weeks, the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), an agency of Human Settlements, is expected to present a report on the structural integrity of the damaged houses, along with a geotechnical assessment to guide necessary interventions.
'Based on what I have seen … relocation of these households would be the best solution,' she said.
On Friday, the partners issued a notice stating that free meals will be provided for 14 days in the morning and evening from this weekend.
Thereafter, food parcels would be made available for people to start cooking for themselves.
Meanwhile, Eskom reported that heavy rain and severe lightning storms experienced in various parts of the province resulted in network faults and interruption to electricity supply on Thursday evening.
Eskom spokesperson Joyce Zingoni said restoration efforts were under way as the company's technical teams worked through the night to restore supply to most customers.
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