KZN premier forced to evacuate family from home in flood-hit La Mercy

Suthentira Govender Senior reporter
KZN premier Sihle Zikalala had to evacuate his family from his La Mercy home, north of Durban, during the early hours of Sunday. File photo.
KZN premier Sihle Zikalala had to evacuate his family from his La Mercy home, north of Durban, during the early hours of Sunday. File photo.
Image: Sandile Ndlovu

KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala was forced to evacuate his family from their home in La Mercy, an area devastated by the weekend rains, during the early hours of Sunday.

Zikalala posted on Facebook that he and his family were “befallen without expectation”.

“So yesterday [Saturday] I worked till midnight co-ordinating the evacuation of people in danger of floods.

“Then later, at dawn, I found out that I, myself, had to be evacuated as all roads around had been washed away.”

“I drove myself out with my three boys Ntobeko, Awande and Sandiswa.

“But all this could not have been achieved without the support and prayers of the one and only Nelly Zikalala,” he said.

Crown Gospel Music Awards co-founder Zanele Mbokazi was unable to reach her home in La Mercy on Saturday night because “there was no way in or out” for residents.

She posted on Facebook on Sunday about her plight: “So we could not get home last night. Our area is totally isolated, all roads closed.”

Mbokazi said she tried in vain for four hours on Saturday to reach her home.

She was forced to seek refuge at a hotel. She posted pictures of the collapsed M4 highway and other roads in the area hit by torrential rain.

TimesLIVE

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