South Africa floods: President declares national state of disaster

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster and announced a range of measures to respond to the devastating floods triggered by four days of torrential rain.

The death toll from the South Africa's floods has climbed to over 440 with more than 40,000 left homeless across the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Over 60 people are missing due to the heavy downpours which started last week.

Earlier, Ramaphosa described the flooding as a “catastrophe of enormous proportions” while directly linking it to the climate emergency.

Along with the loss of life, damage to infrastructure is extensive. Durban’s port, the busiest in southern Africa, was badly hit disrupting fuel lines and food supplies to the entire country from Durban.

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Satellite images showed massive traffic jams along with strewn shipping containers on a highway hit by the floods.

Meteorologists said the flooding had taken them by surprise. Some parts of KwaZulu-Natal recorded almost their average annual rainfall in 48 hours.