In pictures: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa

Updated 11:26 AM EDT, Wed April 20, 2022

Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
A person walks past flooding in Clare Estate outside of Durban, South Africa, on Monday, April 18.

Heavy rains and flooding hit the eastern coast of South Africa, killing hundreds of people while damaging homes and destroying roads.

The flooding hit the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which includes the coastal city of Durban. Roads cracked and gave way to deep fissures. A huge stack of shipping containers collapsed into muddy waters. A bridge was swept away, leaving people stranded on either side.

In a statement posted to Facebook, the provincial government called it “one of the worst weather storms in the history of our country.”

Teams have been working to evacuate areas that experienced “mudslides, flooding and structural collapses of buildings and roads,” Sipho Hlomuka, a member of the Executive Council for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, said on Twitter.

A search-and-rescue team carries out an airlift near Durban on Tuesday, April 19.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
A search-and-rescue team carries out an airlift near Durban on Tuesday, April 19.
A search-and-rescue team attempts to recover a child's body at the Mzinyathi Falls near Durban on April 19.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
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A search-and-rescue team attempts to recover a child's body at the Mzinyathi Falls near Durban on April 19.
Volunteers and law enforcement workers pack water supplies at a search-and-rescue center in Durban on April 18.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Volunteers and law enforcement workers pack water supplies at a search-and-rescue center in Durban on April 18.
People help clean debris in the Kwandengezi township outside Durban on Friday, April 15.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phil Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
People help clean debris in the Kwandengezi township outside Durban on Friday, April 15.
People stand next to the remains of a house in the Kwandengezi township on April 15.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
People stand next to the remains of a house in the Kwandengezi township on April 15.
Sports fields are underwater in Durban on April 15.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images
Sports fields are underwater in Durban on April 15.
Residents collect clean water from a broken pipe on the side of a road in Amaoti on Thursday, April 14.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images
Residents collect clean water from a broken pipe on the side of a road in Amaoti on Thursday, April 14.
Destruction is seen at Umdloti Beach near Durban on April 14.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images
Destruction is seen at Umdloti Beach near Durban on April 14.
People drag a carpet into the sun to dry after their home was flooded in Isipingo Beach.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
People drag a carpet into the sun to dry after their home was flooded in Isipingo Beach.
Volunteers work to clean up debris at the Blue Lagoon beach in Durban on April 14.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Volunteers work to clean up debris at the Blue Lagoon beach in Durban on April 14.
The Sapref sports center is partially submerged in Isipingo Beach.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
The Sapref sports center is partially submerged in Isipingo Beach.
People wash their clothes as others work to rebuild a damaged home in Durban on April 14.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
People wash their clothes as others work to rebuild a damaged home in Durban on April 14.
This grave site withstood damage after a cemetery flooded in Ntuzuma on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
This grave site withstood damage after a cemetery flooded in Ntuzuma on April 13.
Residents stand in front of their damaged home in the Bhambayi township on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Residents stand in front of their damaged home in the Bhambayi township on April 13.
A rainbow crosses the sky in Inanda on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
A rainbow crosses the sky in Inanda on April 13.
Displaced people from the Phoenix township take part in an afternoon prayer on April 13. They took refuge at the Sastri Park Hall after the flooding.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced people from the Phoenix township take part in an afternoon prayer on April 13. They took refuge at the Sastri Park Hall after the flooding.
Debris surrounds homes in the Bhambayi township on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Debris surrounds homes in the Bhambayi township on April 13.
People grieve at a church in Clermont after four children died following heavy rains and floods. Mmeli Sokhela, center, lost four children when the church collapsed onto his home.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
People grieve at a church in Clermont after four children died following heavy rains and floods. Mmeli Sokhela, center, lost four children when the church collapsed onto his home.
A man in Clermont salvages the remains of what used to be part of the United Methodist Church of South Africa.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
A man in Clermont salvages the remains of what used to be part of the United Methodist Church of South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, visits Clermont on April 13. He spoke to various people grieving at the United Methodist Church of South Africa.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, visits Clermont on April 13. He spoke to various people grieving at the United Methodist Church of South Africa.
People work outside the damaged church in Clermont.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
People work outside the damaged church in Clermont.
Sokhela reacts during Ramaphosa's visit on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Sokhela reacts during Ramaphosa's visit on April 13.
Children sit on part of the damaged church during Ramaphosa's visit.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Children sit on part of the damaged church during Ramaphosa's visit.
A road is destroyed near Durban on April 13.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Str/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A road is destroyed near Durban on April 13.
A worker cleans up a tanker that washed up on a Durban beach on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Darren Stewart/Gallo Images/Getty Images
A worker cleans up a tanker that washed up on a Durban beach on April 12.
A woman stands at her front door after heavy rains caused flood damage in Durban.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
A woman stands at her front door after heavy rains caused flood damage in Durban.
A road in Pinetown was washed away by floodwaters on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Darren Stewart/Gallo Images/Getty Images
A road in Pinetown was washed away by floodwaters on April 12.
A municipal worker uses a chainsaw to cut branches off a tree that fell onto a car in Pinetown on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
A municipal worker uses a chainsaw to cut branches off a tree that fell onto a car in Pinetown on April 12.
Waves hit a damaged fuel tanker at the Blue Lagoon beach in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Waves hit a damaged fuel tanker at the Blue Lagoon beach in Durban on April 12.
Members of the Ethekwini Metro Fire Department search for a person believed to be trapped after a mudslide caused a house to collapse in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the Ethekwini Metro Fire Department search for a person believed to be trapped after a mudslide caused a house to collapse in Durban on April 12.
Shipping containers are washed away in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Shipping containers are washed away in Durban on April 12.
People walk across a makeshift bridge after a bridge was swept away in Ntuzuma on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Str/AP
People walk across a makeshift bridge after a bridge was swept away in Ntuzuma on April 12.
Jomba Phiri walks over to where his house once stood in Durban.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Jomba Phiri walks over to where his house once stood in Durban.
People begin cleaning up damage in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
People begin cleaning up damage in Durban on April 12.
A volunteer hands two loaves of bread to a man in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP/Getty Images
A volunteer hands two loaves of bread to a man in Durban on April 12.
Part of the N2 highway is flooded in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Part of the N2 highway is flooded in Durban on April 12.
A rescue worker walks with a man who was helped from a flooded workplace near Umlazi on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
A rescue worker walks with a man who was helped from a flooded workplace near Umlazi on April 12.
A river runs around a damaged bridge on April 12 after heavy rains destroyed it near Durban.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Str/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A river runs around a damaged bridge on April 12 after heavy rains destroyed it near Durban.
People search for salvageable items on the beach in Durban on April 12.
Photos: Deadly floods wreak havoc in South Africa
Rogan Ward/Reuters
People search for salvageable items on the beach in Durban on April 12.