KZN floods: Boats needed to rescue workers in Isipingo

A car stuck in deep water in Isipingo.

Boats were acquired on Tuesday for rescue workers stuck at shoulder height in Isipingo, southwest of Durban.

The Isipingo area was hit hard by the rains, with homes near Isipingo beach completely flooded.

Aidan David, president of the Isipingo Community Policing Forum, said they had been responding to calls from people stuck in their workplaces since dawn.

“The situation is terrible, it is a state of disaster.

He said:

“I have people from as far away as Hibberdene and Warner Beach helping us with rubber duckies. We try to get people out of where they’re stuck.

David said the Crab City area was totally underwater with water levels reaching almost two meters high.

“We need to get people to safety, but the challenge we face is that we have no safe place.

“Rooms are filling up and people have even offered their vacant homes up high, which we appreciate but I don’t think that will be enough.

“We are going to need more supplies and assistance,” he said. David said the situation appears to be going “from bad to worse” as sea water continues to raise river levels.

“It will affect the many houses along the river banks in Isipingo,” he said.

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Earnest A. Martinez