Margate residents counting cost of damage in wake of deadly flooding

DURBAN – People in Margate, south of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) are counting the costs in the wake of deadly flooding.

Five people lost their lives in the area when extreme weather lashed the province.

READ: KZN govt activates disaster relief resources in wake of deadly flooding

A church in Margate estimates that it has suffered over R1 million in damages caused by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

Werner Olivier, a local pastor, said that he and his wife watched from a distance as inclement Sunday night weather destroyed their spiritual home.

Part of the church building collapsed and the equipment was destroyed.

Olivier told Eyewitness News that his attempts to try and save what he could were futile due to the amount of rainfall at the time.

"This is what we found - everything was swepted by water, we basically lost everything - we reckon it’s around about R1.5 or 1.8 million that we calculated so far."

Anton Cerenio, who also goes to the church, said he was sad to see their church in this state.

"The river came down and it burst its banks basically over the low-lying bridge in Margate here and the water just came through and it just went right through the church, so I’d say 80% of the church is completely destroyed."

The provincial government has warned residents to be on standby in case there is a need to evacuate as more heavy rains are expected.