Paramedics had a busy night last night, responding to people who were injured in a storm.
Yesterday afternoon and early last evening, the KZN Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services paramedics responded to multiple calls for assistance following a heavy storm in the Tugela Ferry area in central KZN.
Paramedics initially had difficulty accessing the affected areas due to multiple swollen rivers that were preventing them from reaching the communities. Paramedics had to use 4×4 ambulances and had to wait for the rivers to recede to access the affected areas.
According to the paramedics, it was difficult to determine exactly how many dwellings were affected by the storm due to darkness and the inclement weather. Some houses had flood damage, while others, including mud houses and formal brick houses, were completely destroyed by the storm.
Paramedics treated 11 patients from various households. The patients included a woman who was in a critical condition after a roof collapsed on her. Four children were among the remaining patients who had sustained mostly minor injuries.
Many of the people who had been injured, had been transported to hospital privately as our paramedics said when they arrived at hospital with the patients they had treated, there were approximately 30 patients, with minor injuries already at hospital.
In a separate incident, four children were injured when a mud house collapsed during a storm. This incident occurred in Roosboom near Ladysmith yesterday afternoon. One child was seriously injured while the others had sustained minor injuries.
Disaster management teams will assess the damage today, with EMS remaining on high alert.