Disasters South Africa

Heavy rains wreaking havoc across northern South Africa have claimed at least 19 lives, and forecasters predicted that more downpours were on the way. The South African Press Assn. said heavy rains were sweeping vehicles off roads, setting off deadly mudslides, burying people in collapsed homes and causing other fatal accidents across the region. The news agency said the death toll was at least 19 people.

Heavy rains wreaking havoc across northern South Africa have claimed at least 19 lives, and forecasters predicted that more downpours were on the way. The South African Press Assn. said heavy rains were sweeping vehicles off roads, setting off deadly mudslides, burying people in collapsed homes and causing other fatal accidents across the region. The news agency said the death toll was at least 19 people.

In one of the country's worst floods, at least 130 people drowned and up to 1,000 were reported homeless after a rain-swollen river raged through crowded Zulu townships and squatter camps near Pietermaritzburg, officials said Tuesday. Military and police rescue teams helped search for survivors and recovered bodies Tuesday afternoon in the Edendale Valley, a cluster of slum communities in KwaZulu-Natal province, about 240 miles southeast of Johannesburg.

In one of the country's worst floods, at least 130 people drowned and up to 1,000 were reported homeless after a rain-swollen river raged through crowded Zulu townships and squatter camps near Pietermaritzburg, officials said Tuesday. Military and police rescue teams helped search for survivors and recovered bodies Tuesday afternoon in the Edendale Valley, a cluster of slum communities in KwaZulu-Natal province, about 240 miles southeast of Johannesburg.