KZN govt pleads with citizens not to build homes in areas prone to flooding

NEW HANOVER - The KwaZulu-Natal government is pleading with residents not to build homes in areas prone to flooding

This after several houses built near the Njasuthi River in New Hanover were washed away by floods on Sunday.

The province has experienced severe downpours and a hailstorm, resulting in damaging flooding. 

While rescue teams have managed to evacuate dozens of people who were trapped to safe ground, one body was recovered, while a search for two other bodies continues.

KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli: "We are urging that our citizens must really respond to the alerts and even to our call because we’ve been on record saying there is a need to relocate some buildings which are in dangerous areas like flooding areas, on the banks of the river."

Ntuli said the disaster could have been avoided. 

"If that had to be a call to be responded to quite urgently, maybe we might be speaking a different language. Not today, we’ve lost lives."