At least 45 people have been killed after intensely heavy rainfall in South Africa.

Officials said homes have been ravaged and roads swept away in Durban, a coastal city in the east of the country, on Tuesday.

The provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal province, which confirmed the number of dead, said the toll could rise further.

Heavy rain was expected to continue until evening in the coastal parts of the province.

Disaster management teams were evacuating people in areas hit by mudslides and where buildings had collapsed, officials said.

Several homes were washed away and several roads caved in, which affected transportation and rescue operations.

People carried some salvaged possessions to safer places as muddy waters gushed across streets.

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Heavy rain events could become more frequent

The rains in KwaZulu-Natal also flooded a dam beyond capacity, making it impossible to operate a hydroelectric generator at power utility Eskom, boss Andre de Ruyter said in an online briefing.

South Africa’s biggest logistics and freight operator Transnet, which runs the Durban port, paused operations across its terminals there as the floods damaged a road and blocked access to the terminals.

Floods around the coastal city of East London in January killed at least 10 people and left hundreds homeless.

Scientists have suspected climate change has caused the worsening floods and droughts along the eastern coastline.

The South African Weather Service declined to attribute the heavy rainfall to climate change but said such weather could become more common.

In 2019, the Department of Environment drew up a plan for South Africa to adapt to climate change, which includes strengthening its preparedness to respond more quickly to weather disasters and help victims recover.

The weather department said heavy rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal will considerably weaken by tomorrow, but added the heavy rain will return on Friday and last until Monday.

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