South Africa floods, mudslides kill 33, children missing
Durban: The death toll from floods and mudslides that crushed homes in the South African port of Durban on Tuesday has risen to 33, with reports of children missing and scores of people displaced, authorities said.
"Heavy rains have since claimed 33 lives so far," Nomusa Dube-Ncube, a KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister said in a statement.
Among those killed were a six-month-old baby and a child aged around 10.She added that 10 children are missing in Durban and 42 people have been injured.
An AFP photographer saw two of the nine bodies -- including that of a small child -- being pulled out of a house belonging to a school caretaker in Westcliff, a working class suburb on the outskirts of Durban.
The victims were buried under a wall that had collapsed on them while they were sleeping.At least 145 people have been displaced, the government said.
A Hindu temple in the city was entirely flooded with water levels of up to 10 metres, the photographer reported.
Heavy rains have lashed South Africa in recent days, with the southern and eastern parts of the country badly hit since the start of Easter weekend.
"Last night the weather conditions worsened significantly," Dube-Ncube said.
Government said dozens of incidents of collapsed walls and flooded homes were reported throughout the night, as roads were also flooded.
Those killed were either crushed to death by mudslides or drowned in flood waters, Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson told AFP. Search and rescue operations have combed the debris for those who might be trapped underneath.
In addition to collapsed buildings and flooded roads, sewer lines were blocked and electricity pylons had toppled over. South African military personnel have been dispatched to help rescue and evacuation efforts.
Government, political and religious groups were Tuesday handing out food parcels to the affected people.
The South African Weather Services warned that more heavy rain and gale force winds were expected until Wednesday, which could threaten low-lying bridges and roads.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
