Residents of Umdloti north of Durban are protesting against new developments which they believe are to blame for the devastating impact on the area following the floods and storms over the past weekend.

A number of homes some of which have been standing for decades until now were washed away and several families had to be evacuated. Residents believe this was the result of problems with the storm water management plans and the environmental impact assessments that were apparently carried out.

About 100 residents carrying placards emblazoned with messages reading “stop developers killing Umdloti” and “our village destroyed by greed” have gathered outside the developments. They’re planning on handing over a memorandum to the developers later on Wednesday morning.

April’s floods resulted in two deep crevices opening up which were further worsened by storms over the weekend. Residents are angry, some of them said they’ve lived there for over 40 years and they have never seen anything like that.