Hundreds of people around the country have been displaced due to the floods following heavy rains throughout the week. In Komani, formerly known as Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, over a thousand people were removed from their homes to places of safety due to the low-lying areas being flooded in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality. 

FLOODING SPREAD IN EC

The Komani and other rivers have since affected other areas including Emalahleni and Dr AB Xuma municipalities. Chris Hani District municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said bad weather conditions continue to wreak havoc across the district. "Some of ther rivers are currently overflowing, affecting bridges in different parts of the district. Road infrastructure in these areas has been severely damaged," she said. Ganyaza added that Queenstown Life Private Hospital, and Queens Casino and Hotel were also flooded, and the SPCA had to evacuate animals from its premises. In the Emalahleni Local Municipality also in Eastern Cape, flooding of the Mcwangele Bridge cut off access to schools and clinics on Friday. The Tabasa village bridge in Zwartwater was also affected. Disaster management teams are monitoring the situation throughout the district. Forecasters have cautioned that the downpours are likely to continue over the weekend, with an orange level-5 weather warning remaining in place." South African Weather Service (SAWS) forecaster Pumla Msutu said the weather would start to clear up on Saturday. She added that light showers could still occur on Saturday. She was not able to give the amount of rainfall that had fallen on Wednesday night, due to technical issues with the 

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK TEMPORARILY CLOSED

Meanwhile in Mpumalanga Kruger National Park camps and roads had to be temporarily closed due to flooding on Friday. South African National Parks (SANParks) has advised guests not to use any gravel roads and to stay on the tar. Guests are further advised not to open or travel on any roads which have been closed and not to cross any low water bridges as the dangers of being washed away remain high. "There are currently four camps that have been badly affected by the floods; namely: Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge, Biyamiti and Talamati and they are currently not accessible. Guests arriving at Talamati today have been moved to Satara. Management is inconstant communications with guests inside these camps about the situation. Not threat or danger to lives has been experienced in the park and we will try our best to continue to keep all our guests in the affected camps safe', said KNP's acting General Manager Hein Grobler.

KWAZULU NATAL

 In KwaZulu Natal, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has identified the towns of Mkuze and Ndumo in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality as heavily affected by the floods, however Newcastle and Vryheid are also flooded. Nonala Ndlovu, Cogta's spokesperson in KZN said some homes were brought to the ground." Already, disaster management teams in uMkhanyakude are responding to incidents in Ndumo and Mkuze where houses have been damaged and roads flooded. Areas along the interior of the province are also expected to be affected by the heavy rain, although to a lesser extent, "she said. Ndlovu said the department calls upon members of the public to be cautious, as the weather conditions pose a serious risk to human lives.