A communication breakdown, inadequate infrastructure and housing in informal settlements contributed to a high death toll from devastating floods around the South African port city of Durban, experts say.<\/b><\/p>\n
The heaviest rains in decades pummeled the <\/span>KwaZulu-Natal province, killing more than 300 people and causing <\/span>billions of rand worth of damages<\/span><\/a> to properties and infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n Torrential rainfall caused mudslides which trapped people under buildings, with <\/span>officials describing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the event as \u201cone of the worst weather storms in the history of our country.” President Cyril Ramaphosa said the flooding was \u201ca catastrophe of enormous proportions”.<\/span><\/p>\n “<\/span>First indications are that about one month of average rainfall occurred over one or two days,” Mark New, director of the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), told Climate Home News.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “After detailed analysis, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if this turned out to be a one-in-a-hundred-year event, or even rarer,” New said.<\/span><\/p>\n Some survivors blamed poor drainage and badly built housing for the high death toll. Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda disagreed<\/a>, insisting the scale of flooding was unexpected.<\/span><\/p>\n But the authorities have questions to answer over the province’s preparedness for such an extreme event.<\/span><\/p>\n\n