One of the worst storms in the history of South Africa, that's how a local
government on the nation's east coast describes a subtropical system named lssa.
It was a slow-moving storm.
It hit the province of KwaZulu-Natal which includes the city of Durban,
home to more than 3 million people
And Issa's sluggish pace gave it plenty of time to drop heavy rains on the region.
They began on Monday and brought several months worth ofprecipitation
to the area over just a few days.
So, flooding along South Africa's East Coast has been tremendous
Mudslides have flowed downhill Buildings have collapsed.
Cracks widened into deep fissures destroying roads.
Homes have been lost and officials say more than 300 people have been killed.
Rescue teams have been digging
through mud and rubble to save lives.
Most of the shipping containers that arrive in Southern Africa are processed
through the port of Durban.
And when the weakened ground gave way, a large stack of containers could be seen
collapsing into the muddy waters around it.
Electrical crews have been working
around the clock to restore powerbut the flooding has been so bad around
some stations that workers haven't been able to get to them.
Officials say water mains have
also been damaged and the local government is asking for the South African
national defense force to help provide support from the air.
Is there any end in sight?
Well, the rain did let up for a while on Thursday, bringing some relief.
But with a cold front expected to stall over South Africa's east coast this
weekend, more rain is in the forecast
Unfortunately, this isn't the only disaster threatening the African continent.
Another one that could become widespread stems from a conflict that's
thousands of miles north.