Six Malawians have died and two others are missing following floods that have caused havoc in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
The ministry’s spokesperson John Kabaghe said in an interview that 53 houses where some Malawians were residing have been extensively damaged.
He said the families have since been displaced and are being kept in makeshift and shelter homes.
Kabaghe said the ministry is still gathering information on the total number of those affected and is in touch with the Malawi High Commissioner’s as the associations of Malawians living in Durban for updates.
He said: “So far, communication has been a challenge in that area due to infrastructure damage. We will share the information we get with other relevant stakeholders such as the Department of Disaster Management Affairs to determine how best we can respond to the situation.
“But, so far, 19 Malawians have requested to be evacuated back home and the government will ensure they get the assistance they need.”
Various South Africa media outlets reported that 448 people have died and 63 others were still missing with close to 4 000 homes destroyed.
President Lazarus Chakwera in his capacity as Southern African Development Community chairperson has since consoled South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the death of people from floods in Province.
The floods in South Africa come several weeks after Malawi also faced similar extreme weather events due tropical storms Ana and Gombe that killed a total of 85 people and affected 1 154 298 others between January and March 2022.
