Drive back home ends in tragedy

WOMAN'S body recovered after heavy rain.

The body was recovered on Friday morning, 14 March, following heavy rains in Durban, KZN.

The woman, believed to be 54 years old, was driving back home from work on Thursday, 13 March, when her car was washed away by heavy rain at Stepleton Road in Pinetown.

Durban was, once again, hit by heavy rain, which flooded a lot of roads.

Pinetown and Kloof were mostly affected and most areas also had power outages due to heavy rain.

Although the rain has stopped, it's expected to return later in the day. Emergency services across Durban are urging residents to avoid traveling as most roads are water-logged.

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Recent floods in KZN caused an estimated R3,1 billion in damages. The province was declared a national state of disaster by the National Disaster Management Centre.

Floods resulted in the tragic loss of 22 lives across the province. It also caused extensive damage to public infrastructure and private property and severely disrupted essential services like water and electricity supply.

However, the Minister for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Velenkosini Hlabisa, said KZN will donate more than R600 million to aid its municipalities to recover from the devastating floods.

Funds will be directed towards disaster recovery efforts and improving future recovery efforts and improving future disaster management strategies.

Hlabisa said: "In two weeks' time we will convene a joint meeting with all provinces and municipalities that received funding. Some of the funds were transferred on 5 March and the remainder will be disbursed early April to address ongoing disaster challenges."