Watch: Drone footage of Umdloti landslide made public

The extreme weather event has smashed rainfall records in the province – and the cost of this damage could run up a bill of more than R1 billion. It’s been a harrowing 48 hours or so for local residents, particularly those in eThekwini.

Entire bridges have been washed away. Meanwhile, homes and well-travelled roads have been swallowed by sinkholes. Travel chaos has reached near-unprecedented levels in Durban, with the N2 and M4 currently closed off.

Umdloti made major headlines on Monday, after landslides were reported at sea-facing properties. Torrents of muddy water gushed through private properties, forcing residents to evacuate. As the foundations gave way, entire apartment buildings collapsed into newly-created gaping chasms.

• The drone footage which captured the aftermath is genuinely jaw-dropping

Hells Bells pic.twitter.com/Av3doIJ9Hf

— The Mayor of Durban (@LuckyGordy) April 12, 2022

Landslide drone footage ‘captures trail of destruction’

The SA Weather Service (SAWS) issued a statement on Tuesday, confirming that a Level 9 weather warning had been implemented for eThekiwni and Ugu – for the remainder of the day. According to a spokesperson, the rainfall system ‘will have weakened significantly by Wednesday’ – but more downpours are scheduled for Easter:

“SAWS has now upgraded the heavy rain warning to an Orange Level 9 for the remainder of today. Overnight rainfall reports from KwaZulu-Natal have underscored the particularly heavy and extreme nature of the rainfall, with some 24-hour falls exceeding 200 mm. More noteworthy, is that a few stations even reported 300 mm or more.”

“The good news is that, by tomorrow the current rainfall system will have weakened considerably, heralding a spell of a few days of settled dry weather. However, the public should take note that rain is expected to return to many of our provinces, ahead of and during the coming Easter weekend.”

SAWS statement