NATIONAL NEWS - Devastating floods last week in KwaZulu-Natal will cost Durban over a billion rand in damages to infrastructure, according to the province’s premier, Willies Mchunu.

The floods destroyed houses, roads and other bulk infrastructure, and killed many people in various communities in the eThekwini, Ilembe, Ugu, and King Cetshwayo municipalities.

Mchunu’s estimation of R1.1 billion in damages follows an earlier estimate of R658 million by the Thekwini metro in an interim report following an emergency meaning with the executive committee of the municipality.

However, at a media briefing on Monday following this emergency meeting, the premier mentioned a much higher figure for the damages and added that he was going to ask the president to declare the province a state of disaster.

“The KwaZulu-Natal cabinet at its specially convened meeting resolved to seek for the classification of the Provincial State of Disaster. We requested National Government to invoke Section 41 of the Disaster Management Act No.57 because the province alone cannot cope with these incidents,” Mchunu said, as reported on IOL.

“We also resolved to make sure that all locations where they going to hold elections are to be restored immediately.”

The death toll following the floods in eThekwini currently sits at 64, with an additional 6 from Ugu District Municipality confirmed dead, Mchunu said. In addition to this, roughly 50 people have been injured and over 1,600 people have been displaced and are currently being housed in disaster relief tents.

Reportedly, 235 houses have been damaged and two people remain missing, with the city carrying out ongoing search operations.

Read more on the Caxton publication, The Citizen.