Twelve people have died in South Africa’s eastern provinces washed by the Indian Ocean after floods caused by heavy rain and strong winds, local authorities said late Monday.

In the Eastern Cape province (south-east), “the toll has reached seven dead,” Gulf community representative Nelson Mandela told AFP.

Over 2,000 people had to be hastily evacuated from their homes, especially families settled in makeshift buildings in slums. The municipality appealed for in-kind donations, as the evacuees need blankets, food and clothing.

Further north, near Durban, in the region neighboring KwaZulu-Natal (east), “five people unfortunately lost their lives” while there are “dozens” injured, according to local authorities.

In 2022, this major port and its surroundings were hit by the worst floods in the country’s history. Torrential rains created terrifying rivers of mud, which swallowed everything in their path. More than 400 people lost their lives and the damage was estimated at several million euros.

Last night, search and rescue teams remained deployed in both provinces.

Visual material released by the authorities shows destroyed houses, roads covered by water, uprooted trees.

Power outages were reported in places.

Heavy rainfall has so far been concentrated in coastal areas, but the weather service has issued emergency warnings for dangerous phenomena in four of South Africa’s nine provinces.

According to South Africa’s national meteorological institute, the country is being hit by a low (it calls it a “cut-off low”) that is bringing heavy rain, hail, strong winds and even snowfall.