Durban - Reports have been circulating on social media suggesting the town of Ladysmith in northern KwaZulu-Natal was completely flooded following the weekend’s heavy rains.
But Alfred Duma Municipality mayor Zama Sibisi, told “The Mercury” on Monday, that while some streets were flooded, the entire town was not affected.
Sibisi said three streets were flooded in Ladysmith over the weekend.
“Shops were closed in Ladysmith due to the floods and heavy rains, however damage is not as severe as what was posted on social media. Our teams are currently still on the ground to provide updated information.”
Sibisi added the municipality was aware that some valves for the storm water drainage system were not functioning properly.
She said this, together with the heavy rains, had caused the flooding in Ladysmith.
“We did pick up that there were 11 valves not functioning properly. We set aside a budget but unfortunately we were only able to deal with 8 valves. The three other valves which were not functioning properly were not replaced. That is something that we will be addressing.”
Last week “The Mercury” reported on the damage reported in the Alfred Duma Municipality on the weekend of February 11 and 12.
In that weekend rain, 747 people were affected by the flooding.
“There were 114 houses completely destroyed and 69 houses partially destroyed. Eight low-crossing bridges have been damaged and 19 wards affected. There have been no fatalities reported,” said Sibisi at the time.