Amidst the torrential rain, destruction and devastating loss of life, a ray of sunshine broke through the clouds. The human spirit once again was evident in KZN, communities came together to face one of the worst natural disasters in living memory.
It all started on Monday, the skies grew grey, and the rain started to fall, no one was worried as it seemed like a normal rainy day. As the day turned to night the rain turned into a constant thundering downpour that only seemed to magnify as the hours went on, the shear amount of water falling closed around you like a thick curtain, suffocating in its intensity.
Each passing hour brought news of more disaster, destruction, and misery. Peoples lives and livelihoods were washed away in minutes, tales of tragic loss of life became part of the dark night. However other stories were emerging, stories of courage hope and the indomitable spirit of mankind.
Neighbours and communities came out to help those in need and opened their homes to those who had lost everything. Desperate rescue efforts took place and often were made even more difficult as access was literally impossible to certain areas. Emergency services were stretched to their breaking point, simply, no one expected the magnitude of this disaster. The residents of KZN tried their best but facing the full force of mother nature it was always going to be a one-sided battle.
As night turned too day the picture of total devastation started to emerge, the cost started to rise, and people started to grieve. People would start to pick up the pieces of their lives that had been swept away by the storm and the grim reality of what was going to follow slowly started to sink in. The light of that morning seemed to only spur on normal people who tried to help in anyway they could, whether it was with food, provisions, or shelter, we knew that every small action would make a difference. Emergency teams, residents and organizations rallied together to try and save lives and make the lives of those who had been affected slightly more bearable.
The true aftermath of the destruction would only become apparent days after, the toll of lives lost continued to mount and the damage was now measured in billions. Necessities such as water and electricity would be interrupted for weeks and in many areas critical infrastructure was wiped out completely.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, hope started to emerge as people united around the country to help those in need. Heroes emerged and heroes tragically lost their lives, but the true heroes were the normal people, who helped each other without thought for themselves and ultimately the fighting nature of the human spirit shone bright in a time of great darkness. In all this hope we must never stop mourning for those who lost loved ones and we must never stop the spirit of Ubuntu.
They build them tough in KZN and we will emerge stronger than before.