Fires killed several people in eastern South Africa while at the other end of the country, tourist spot Cape Town struggled on Monday to cope with floods affecting thousands of residents. The KwaZulu-Natal Fire Protection Association said it had controlled but not extinguished fires spread by heavy winds in unusually dry conditions, and winds were due to intensify.

"If this goes on until Wednesday, when we are expecting the wind to get worse, then the damage could definitely get worse," said operations manager, Simon Thomas. Several people were killed over the weekend but authorities were still trying to determine details on casualties. Raging fires fanned by windstorms also hit neighbouring Swaziland, killing at least two people and driving thousands from their homes, said police in the tiny kingdom. In Cape Town, home to South Africa's parliament, thousands of shantytown residents used buckets to bail out flood water.

Relief officials said some 38,000 people had been affected since heavy rain began lashing the city a week ago, with damage estimated to run into millions of rand. City disaster management spokesman Johan Minnie said it was the highest number of people hit by flooding in five years. "We are stretched, especially in terms of supplying disaster relief. We are at capacity at the moment," Minnie said.

Heavy rains have stopped but forecasters expect them to resume mid-week. Many residents of tin shacks on the edge of Cape Town refused to move to emergency shelters, fearing their meagre possessions would be lost, he said. Officials provided 25,000 meals to flood victims on Sunday. Minnie said clean up operations would focus on clearing debris from storm water drains which have blocked roads. (Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town)
(By Muchena Zigomo, Planet Ark, 31/07/2007)