. 24/7 Space News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
At least five dead in South Africa floods, mudslides
by AFP Staff Writers
Johannesburg (AFP) April 12, 2022

At least five people have been killed in floods and mudslides across the South African port city of Durban following heavy rain, authorities said on Tuesday.

Days of pounding rain have flooded several areas and shut dozens of roads across the southeastern city, while landslips have caused train services across KwaZulu-Natal province to be suspended.

"Five deaths have been reported so far (but) we are still busy gathering information from the emergency services," Lungi Mtshali, spokesman for the Department of Cooperative Governance, a national ministry, told AFP.

Local media are reporting between 11 and 20 people dead, although the figures have not yet been confirmed, and one first responder said he expected the official toll to rise.

Video footage shared by private emergency and rescue workers and paramedics showed flooded city highways, submerged cars and collapsed houses.

The disaster management department in KwaZulu-Natal, of which Durban is the largest city, urged people to stay at home and ordered those residing in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

Rescue operations are underway to evacuate people in areas that have "experienced mudslides, flooding and structural collapses of buildings and roads," the department said.

Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda told reporters that power stations had been flooded and water supplies disrupted -- and that even graveyards had not been spared the devastation.

One picture posted on Twitter by an anti-theft vehicle-tracking agency showed what looked like a human skull that had been washed to the surface of a cemetery.

Footage on public broadcaster showed several shipping containers strewn on a freeway in the city, one of southern Africa's regional gateways to the sea.

A local humanitarian agency, Gift of the Givers, said in a statement: "The need of the hour is huge."

It said transport infrastructure had suffered massive damage and some people were trapped beneath collapsed walls.

The country's rail service PRASA said landslips and rubble on the tracks had forced it to suspend all train services in the province.

"It's an absolute nightmare. Plenty of mudslides, people passing (dying), buildings collapsed," Garrith Jamieson, director of Durban-based ALS Paramedics Medical Services, told AFP as he predicted "more fatalities."


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


SHAKE AND BLOW
Climate change drove extreme rain in southeast Africa storms: study
Paris (AFP) April 11, 2022
A string of deadly storms pummelled Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique with more intense rainfall because of climate change, new research found Monday. Three tropical cyclones and two tropical storms hit Southeast Africa in just six weeks in the first months of this year, causing widespread flooding. More than a million people were affected and at least 230 people died. The analysis was carried out by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network of scientists, which has pioneered ways to spe ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
UCF part of historic civilian space flight to ISS

First private mission reaches International Space Station

Arctic simulation of Moon-like habitat shows wellbeing sessions keep you sane

Ax-1: why the private mission to the International Space Station is a gamechanger

SHAKE AND BLOW
ISRO likely to launch seven satellites during current year: Govt

Virgin Orbit to launch maritime data satellite from the UK

First private mission launches to ISS

SpaceX launches first private astronaut mission to ISS

SHAKE AND BLOW
Got a hitch in our giddyup - Sols 3437-3438

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover reroutes away from 'Gator-Back' rocks

Citizen scientists help map ridge networks on Mars

Balancing Risks in the Seitah Region for Flight 24

SHAKE AND BLOW
Tianzhou 2 re-enters Earth's atmosphere, mostly burns up

Shenzhou XIII astronauts prep for return

China's Tianzhou-2 cargo craft leaves space station core module

China's space station to support large-scale scientific research

SHAKE AND BLOW
The race to dominate satellite internet heats up

Beyond Gravity to develop dispenser for Project Kuiper's satellite constellation

Benchmark Space Systems triples production capacity to meet thruster and in-space mobility demand

Amazon signs on launch partners for space internet

SHAKE AND BLOW
China approves first new gaming titles in nine months

Embracing ancient materials and 21st-century challenges

Smarter 3D printing makes better parts faster

When art collectors chucked NFTs worth millions in the garbage

SHAKE AND BLOW
Diverse life forms may have evolved earlier than previously thought

A Beacon in the Galaxy: Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects

Cosmic SETI ready to stream data for technosignature research from Jansky VLA

Prenatal protoplanet upends planet formation models

SHAKE AND BLOW
SwRI scientists connect the dots between Galilean moon, auroral emissions on Jupiter

Juice's journey and Jupiter system tour

Pluto's giant ice volcanos may have formed from multiple eruption events

Chaos terrains on Europa could be shuttling oxygen to ocean









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.