- Three people are missing in New Hanover after floods swept through homes and farms during heavy rain and thunderstorms on Sunday night.
- Disaster teams are in KwaZulu-Natal searching for the missing people and checking damaged houses, roads and bridges after the storm.
At least three families in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands are searching for their loved ones after powerful floods tore through New Hanover on Sunday night.
Residents say the rain came fast, and the water rose before many people even realised their homes were in danger.
People watched water rush through their yards, breaking down walls and sweeping away belongings.
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Some families stood helpless as their livestock became trapped in kraals with no way out.
Many say they spent the night scared as the storm got stronger.
In Inanda, a college student was taken to hospital after part of a house collapsed while she was asleep. Neighbours pulled her from the rubble before emergency workers arrived.
The rain started shortly after 18h00 and was followed by strong wind and lightning.
By 19h00, homes, roads and farms in the uMshwathi area were already badly damaged.
Families searched for relatives as reports came in that three people had been swept away.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, said he sent disaster teams to the area as soon as the reports reached him.
He said teams worked through the night with search and rescue units to look for the missing people.
The storm also hit other parts of the uMgungundlovu District, flooding houses and damaging bridges and roads. Some areas are still hard to reach.
Buthelezi said it is too early to know the full extent of the damage. Officials will assess everything once the weather clears.
The storm came after warnings from the South African Weather Service, which had issued alerts for heavy rain and flooding. Many communities were already struggling after last week's floods in Newcastle.
