In South Africa, the death toll from last week’s devastating floods has risen to 443. Dozens of people are still missing in the KwaZulu-Natal province, where heavy rains triggered massive flooding and mudslides. Tens of thousands of people have been left homeless. Scores of hospitals and more than 500 schools have been destroyed in what’s being described as one of South Africa’s worst natural disasters. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has directly linked the floods to the climate emergency. Devastated areas included Umlazi, a township near Durban.

Mlungeli Mkokelwa: “What makes me angry is that this situation is always happening. It keeps destroying our possessions that we work hard for all the time. There are no jobs as it is, but our possessions keep getting destroyed by continuous floods that should be addressed by authorities. So you end up hopeless, because no one comes back to give a report on plans to resolve such situations, and the floods keep coming back to destroy us.”