South Africa's flood death toll rises to 395, over 40,000 people affected

A total of 395 people have been killed by flood in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, a government official said.

As of Friday, a total of 40,723 people have been affected, and the latest number of fatalities stands at 395, Sipho Hlomuka, a member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, briefed the media on Friday about the recent floods.

Over 4,000 law enforcement members have been deployed to the affected areas to support relief efforts and maintain law and order, and staff are busy repairing damaged infrastructure like roads, water supply, sanitation and electricity, he said.

According to the South African Weather Service, more rainfall is expected in parts of the province in the coming days, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Damaging winds are forecast for areas along the coast from midday today into Saturday evening. Disruptive rain is forecast," Hlomuka said.

In line with the disaster management plan, provincial and municipal disaster management teams are on high alert to respond to communities known to be at high risk to avert and minimise the disaster impact, he added.

It has been raining heavily in KwaZulu-Natal since the weekend, which damaged roads, homes, schools, electricity poles, and many government infrastructure.