South Africa flood toll nears 400 as rescuers search for missing people.

Police, army and volunteer rescuers on Friday widened the search for dozens still missing five days after the deadliest storm to strike South Africa’s coastal city of Durban in living memory as the death toll rose to nearly 400.

The ‘unprecedented’ floods, which affected nearly 41,000, left a trail of destruction and at least 395 people dead, Sipho Hlomuka, Regional Head of the Disaster Managing Ministry Sipho Hlomuka said in a statement.

With the government coordinating the search-and-rescue operation, the official number of people missing in KwaZulu-Natal province stood at 55.

Travis Trower, a director for the volunteer-run organisation Rescue South Africa, said his teams had found only corpses after following up 85 calls on Thursday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa — describing the floods as “a catastrophe of enormous proportions… not seen before in our country” — urged Good Friday prayers for survivors.

Ango Bally