This content was published on April 15, 2022 – 10:32 p.m. April 15, 2022 – 10:32 p.m
Caracas, 15 April (EFE).- The Government of Venezuela expressed this Friday its solidarity with the Republic of South Africa for the devastating floods that have been registered in the east of this nation since last Monday and have already claimed around 395 lives.
“Venezuela sends our sorrow and solidarity to Sister South Africa for the tragic consequences of the rains in KwaZulu-Natal which have caused hundreds of deaths, thousands of casualties and great damage,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia wrote on his account on Twitter Network.
On behalf of Venezuela, the official offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
The east of the African nation is on “high alert” after forecasts of fresh heavy rains, authorities reported today.
“We have received indications from the South African Weather Service that much of the province (KwaZulu-Natal) may experience more rain,” said Sipho Hlomuka, provincial councilor for cooperative government and traditional affairs.
The adviser noted that disaster management teams are “on high alert to respond to communities known to be at high risk” and avoid or minimize impact.
The latest official figures recorded today total 395 deaths, most of them in Greater Durban, the most populous city in KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest in South Africa.
Also, some 40,723 residents have had to relocate in the area, where the water has inundated homes and left many citizens incommunicado, without electricity and without running water.
In addition, KwaZulu-Natal Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala said Thursday that nearly 7,000 people have been left homeless.
According to calculations by the Mayor of Durban (officially called eThekwini), Mxolisi Kaunda, the damage in this municipality alone is estimated at 757 million rand (about 54 million dollars).
Emergency work continues in the area, which has been declared a state of disaster, and more than 4,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed to support the relief effort. EFE
gcs/jrh
� EFE 2022. The retransmission and redistribution of all or part of the content of the EFE Services is expressly prohibited without the prior and express consent of Agencia EFE SA