Heavy rain batters KZN – six people die, three in landslide, amid devastating floods

Heavy rainfall on Wednesday night, February 19, triggered a landslide in Adams Mission, within KwaMakhutha, a peri-urban area south of Durban, collapsing two structures and resulting in three deaths.

There were three other fatalities reported by the city: a 13-year-old boy in Folweni, a 12-year-old girl in Demat, and a 13-year-old girl in Ensimbini.

In the Adams Mission landslide, three children were able to escape from a structure, but both parents died, and in another, a man in his thirties was trapped and died. All three bodies were recovered on Thursday morning. 

Cathy Sutherland, professor in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, told Daily Maverick that in peri-urban areas many homes are built on slopes with inadequate stormwater management systems. Prolonged rainfall saturates the soil, and a single heavy downpour can trigger landslides.

In these areas, inadequate drainage infrastructure can increase the risk of flooding and slope failures during extreme weather events.

Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for ALS Paramedics, who were called to the scene on Thursday morning with the eThekwini fire department, said: “In the first incident, a landslide crashed through a house, actually tore through the house, where it’s believed that a family, mother, father and two children were inside.

“Fortunately, the children managed to escape. However, the parents were unable to get out in time and it’s alleged they’ve been buried underneath sand and rubble.”

It was later revealed that all three bodies had been recovered. The fire department and police search-and-rescue unit were also on site to sift through rubble to find other occupants. The bodies were recovered by mid-morning. 



Pointing at the sand that nearly reached the roof lining behind the house, Jamieson said: “You can imagine the speed and the force that this sand pushed through this house. It was a family, and fortunately the children managed to escape. However, mom and dad were buried by sand and concrete as it tore through their house.”

Three deaths resulted from a landslide in the Adams Mission area of KwaMakhutha following torrential rains. One family lost both parents, while another man was trapped and died. (Photo: Supplied)

Heavy rainfall on Wednesday night caused a landslide to crush into a house, trapping and killing two people in the early hours of Thursday morning, 20 February 2025, in Adams Mission, in KwaMakhuta, south of Durban. (Photo: Supplied)

In the second incident, at a house not far away, one person was believed to have been crushed in a landslide.

The municipality said, “The team worked through the night to aid the trapped victims. Unfortunately, all six could not be rescued.”

Emergency services including the city’s disaster management, fire department, the South African Police Service, Pathology, and Emergency Medical Services, urgently responded to the scenes where people were found trapped under rubble.

The city has activated its joint Disaster Management Operations Centre to coordinate its response to the impacts of the latest weather-related incident.

According to the Forecast Early Warning System, 184mm of rain was reported in the Amanzimtoti area between midnight to 5am on Thursday.

The city warned that canals were flowing at full capacity with the risk of flooding nearby properties in the south of Durban near the Isiphingo and Prospecton areas.

There are road closures in some parts of the city, and Prospecton has limited access due to flooding. Motorists are advised to follow traffic reports and use alternative routes.

Further updates will be communicated as soon as information becomes available. In case of an emergency, the public can contact the City’s Disaster Management Centre on 031 361 0000

The South African Weather Service (Saws) issued an alert on Sunday, 16 February, advising people, especially in low-lying areas and flat plains, to take all necessary precautions in anticipation of disruptive rain, with possible flooding across many parts of the country. 

“This will lead to flooding of roads, human settlements, difficult driving conditions, mudslides and damage to infrastructure,” said Rudzani Malala, senior Saws manager for disaster risk management.

Saws explained that the persistent rain and flooding causing devastation in Gauteng, North West, the eastern Free State, KZN, parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo were the result of a cut-off low system. 

“As it starts to weaken from today, Thursday, 20 February, resulting in significant reduction in rainfall over these areas, another new development is expected to start affecting most parts of the Northern Cape, North West and Free State from today [Thursday] through to the weekend,” Malala said.

Weather update for Thursday and Friday, 20-21 February 2025:
Scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers in most parts of RSA, but isolated showers in places. ⚠️Disruptive rainfall? and Severe thunderstorms⛈
#saws #weatheroutlook #southafricanweather pic.twitter.com/hXGaA3Zqqq

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) February 20, 2025

Saws noted that a level 6 orange warning (high likelihood of a significant impact) was expected to remain in North West today, adding that the province had already experienced more rain and floods, with the impact expected to remain significant. 

On Friday, 21 February, a level 6 warning was expected over several parts of Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. 

“There’s a high likelihood of significant impacts including infrastructure damage, flooding of rivers and streams, hence communities are urged to stay alert and take all necessary precautions,” Malala said.

“There is, however, an expectation of significant reduction in rainfall in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KZN from later today, hence a relief from the flooding situation in these areas.”

Saws has learnt through the news (cannot confirm) of the unfortunate situation where three people lost their lives due to mudslide south of Durban.

Subsequent to the Media release of the 16th, Saws issued a Level 5 warning gor the affected coastal areas of KZN. This was in anticipation of significant impacts of disruptive rainfall and localised flooding. These early warnings are meant to assist the communities alertness, precautions and where necessary take actions. In this case Saws indeed issued a warning.

Saws preparedness and safety precautions include:

• Avoid crossing flooded roads or fast-running streams;


• If in flooding settlements, move to safety on higher ground if water levels are rising; and


• Avoid crossing low-lying bridges, which are common in Gauteng, including over the Hennops River, Sesmylspruit and Jukskei.

Risk of landslides

Sutherland, who has worked extensively on climate adaptation to flooding with vulnerable communities and the municipality, explained that flood risks in Durban extend beyond floodplains – landslides and localised mass movement events are a major concern in many areas of Durban.

Several factors contribute to landslides:

• Geology and geomorphology: Durban’s landscape varies from loose coastal sands to inland igneous and sedimentary rock, which influences slope stability across the city;


• Land use: Informal settlements and peri-urban areas, which are densifying, often lack adequate planning, engineering and drainage systems, which leads to heightened risks. An increase in hardened surfaces across the city places pressure on stormwater systems which have to manage additional surface water flow;


• Rainfall: Persistent La Niña conditions have saturated the soil, making slopes more prone to slippage during heavy downpours;


• Slopes and terraces: Steep, hilly areas are especially at risk. Many homes are built on terraces – cut-and-fill platforms carved into slopes – which can be unstable if not properly engineered. Even engineered terraces can fail under extreme conditions; and


• Unpredictability: While broad-scale assessments consider geology, soil type, vegetation cover, infrastructure and drainage, predicting exactly where a landslide will occur can be challenging.

“The city is attempting to build climate resilience through mutlistakeholder actor networks, integrating different forms of knowledge. This work is challenging as we need to identify the critical biophysical, social, economic and governance dimensions that produce climate risk in settlements across the city, paying careful attention to planning and development that is responsive to climate change. We saw this in the 2022 floods, where both formal and informal areas were affected by the floods, with landslides occurring across the city.”

Sutherland explained that saturated slopes due to prolonged rainfall, combined with intense downpours, can lead to catastrophic collapses in both formal and informal areas.

“It’s very difficult where you’ve got a slip zone - it’s a lot to do with the geology,” she said, explaining that after heavy rainfall the slopes become saturated “and then you have one big, downpour, and then the whole house or the banks will collapse - and that can be in formal and informal areas.”

She noted that, “the city’s working hard to try to address these challenges through its climate resilience work, but it’s difficult”.

“And the problem with these landslides is that you can’t always predict where they’re going to be,” added Sutherland.

“Like we saw in 2022, you can look at the broader scale risk based on the kind of geology, the soil type, the vegetation cover, the amount of infrastructure you have, the way in which the drainage is managed in each settlement type. The CSIR Greenbook, for example, outlines the risk, but with informality and challenges in the functionality of municipal and private infrastructure, it’s very difficult to manage the risk and this is where multistakeholder partnerships become important.”

eThekwini is working on climate adaptation strategies, investing in ecological infrastructure and ecosystem services to stabilise slopes and improve resilience.

“We’re hoping that if we can rehabilitate and vegetate more areas, and put in more resilient, robust infrastructure, both from a physical built infrastructure and ecological infrastructure perspective through Durban’s Transformative Riverine Management Programme, these two systems can work together to try to reduce these risks,” she said.

“As a province we often bare the brunt of inclement weather conditions, that leave a trail of death and destruction,” said Thulasizwe Buthelezi, the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, at the signing of several crucial Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) aimed at strengthening the province’s disaster management capabilities on Thursday. The signing ceremony, a collaboration between the government, private sector, and various NGOs and social partners.

Buthelezi was speaking just hours after three people had been killed by a landslide in their homes in KwaMakhutha, a peri-urban area south of Durban during the early hours of Thursday morning.

Buthelezi noted that inclement heavy rains have flooded areas within eThekwini especially in the southern parts of the metro - including Amanzimtoti, Morton, Clairwood and Isipingo.

He said that houses collapsed in KwaMakhutha, as well as Amanzimtoti, uMlazi and Maqaqa Lifestyle centre, and that disaster response teams are on scene using heavy machinery to access those that are entrapped. 

Buthelezi also noted the numerous reports of uprooted trees which are obstructing roadways in Chatsworth, Umkomaas, Morning Side and Verulam. 

The MEC revealed that six lives had been lost just this week in the province, with two deaths reported in Nsimbini near the town of Folweni as a result of wall collapses while the victims were asleep, and a child in Eshowe was swept away while crossing a river on Wednesday, 19 February.

“In this situation also, our teams are on the ground trying to recover the body,” he said referring to the child.

MEC Buthelezi extended his condolences to the affected families, emphasising the timeliness of the MOU signings in strengthening the province’s disaster response systems. 

Since December last year, KZN has received more than 30 weather warnings from the South African Weather Service, highlighting the province’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. The impact has been significant, with 30 lives lost since December, 33 people injured and more than 2,000 households affected. The estimated cost of the damage is R3.1-billion, placing a significant strain on the province’s resources.

“While these figures are sobering, it’s encouraging to see that they’re better than the same period last year,” said Buthelezi, noting that in the months of December 2023 and January 2024, they tragically lost 62 lives and suffered R4.7-billion in damages.

“This reduction shows the positive impact of our mitigation efforts and awareness campaigns,” he said, noting that his department is working closely with traditional leadership, social partners, NGOs and the private sector, focused on water safety and drowning prevention. DM

This story was updated on Thursday evening, 20 February.

Heavy rainfall on Wednesday night caused a landslide to crush into a house, trapping and killing two people in the early hours of Thursday morning, 20 February 2025, in Adams Mission, in KwaMakhuta, South of Durban. (Photo: Supplied)

A bank collapsed behind a house in KwaMakhutha in the early hours of Thursday morning, 20 February, trapping and killing two people as sand and debris engulfed the structure. (Photo: Supplied)

Rainfall on 19 February 2025 triggered a landslide in Adams Mission, within KwaMakhutha, a peri-urban area south of Durban, collapsing two structures and resulting in three deaths. (Photo: Supplied)