Families demand that their loved ones' remains be removed from Durban graveyard after flood damage
For some, it's not the first time that severe weather has affected graveyards in Durban.
Families inspect damaged graves at the Wentworth Cemetery in Durban on 3 March 2025 following flooding in the area on 2 March 2025. Picture: Nhlanhla Mabaso/EWN
DURBAN - Families whose loved ones' graves were damaged by the floods in Durban are demanding that their remains be removed from the Wentworth Cemetery.
For some, it's not the first time that severe weather has affected graveyards in Durban.
After the 2022 floods, many families had to rearrange and fix the graves of their loved ones.
Now they’re saying this should be the last time their families go through such trauma.
[WATCH] Manager for Cemeteries Tim Arbuckle addressing the affected families. He’s also informing them what the city willl do to address their situation. #KZNfloods @_NMabaso pic.twitter.com/34aKZqy049
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 3, 2025
[WATCH] These families members say they are unhappy that they had to find out about this situation on social media platforms. #KZNfloods @_NMabaso pic.twitter.com/9M0ygpIbW3
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 3, 2025
One of the victims, who travelled from Pietermaritzburg, had this to say.
"For me, it is very painful because this is a new tombstone that we had to erect after the one that was destroyed. We really don’t know what to do because even previously we did request that our relatives need to be relocated to a safer area because without relocating them, the problem persists."
Meanwhile, Nomfundo Dlamini, whose mother's grave was affected, said it broke her heart to learn about this on social media.
"It is a painful situation that we've encountered here, especially because I got to see or know about this on social media. It's not nice seeing your mother's tombstone on social media and people have different views."