April 17, 2022 – A near rainless sky gave hope on Sunday (17) in South Africa, where calls to prayer surged after east coast flooding that left 450 people dead and tens of thousands homeless, according to a new toll. .

The Durban area, a port city of 3.5 million on the east coast, was the hardest hit and is where most of the victims were recorded. The rains caused massive flooding and deadly landslides.

“The death toll has risen to 443,” Sihle Zikalala, minister of the state of KwaZulu-Natal, where Durban is located, said at a press conference. About 63 people are still missing.

It was still raining in some areas this Sunday morning, but its intensity is incomparable to the past few days.

“Flooding risk low in KwaZulu-Natal [província de Durban] “Today, before Wednesday, and by the end of next week, the rain will completely disappear,” Puseletso Mofokeng, of the national meteorological institute, told AFP.

In recent days, ministers, traditional chiefs, Zulu King Misuzulu Zulu and President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled to the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage and support the families of the victims.

Within seconds, some families lost several members in the flood. Children and infants drowned or were buried in landslides. Many are still missing.

Fewer requests for help

Emergency services stay alert but receive fewer calls. “The number of[calls]linked to the floods has decreased,” Robert McKenzie, a member of the rescue teams, told AFP.

This Easter Sunday, calls to prayer multiplied during religious gatherings.

Visiting the region, Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu said, “We send our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. May Almighty Allah dry their tears.”

About 340 social service representatives were mobilized in the affected areas to provide psychological assistance to the victims. Authorities continue to distribute food, school uniforms and blankets.

More than 250 schools were damaged and more than 4,000 homes were lost. In addition, 13,500 houses were damaged.

The poorest residents of municipalities, which are the capital’s marginalized neighborhoods, were most affected. Houses made of sheet metal or wooden planks did not survive as well as being built on flood-prone terrain.

Some parts of the state experienced water and power outages from Monday. Some desperate residents carry buckets of water in cars on the road. There is no food and what is left is rotten.

Donations collected across the country, including at fire stations, include pasta, canned goods and blankets. The government announced emergency aid amounting to €63 million (one billion rand).

Blocked roads and bridges slow down rescue efforts. Although they continue, there is little hope of finding survivors a week after the disaster began.

Rescuers’ current job is to retrieve the bodies. Many hospitals are damaged and not functioning as they should.

South Africa often avoids storms that hit neighboring countries like Mozambique and Madagascar during the November-April cyclone season each year.