The authorities in South Africa announced on Tuesday that eight people, including four children, were killed by electrocution in two shantytowns in Cape Town during heavy rains that fell last weekend and caused floods and landslides.
The municipality of the coastal city located in the southwest of the country said in a statement, “The Disaster Management Center confirms the death of eight people by electrocution. Four people died in the Driftsands slum and four children in the Klipfontein slum.”
In South Africa, shantytown residents live in randomly built shacks, some of which are illegally connected to the electricity grid.
About six thousand people and 1,500 homes were affected by the storm, which was accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, before its intensity decreased on Monday evening, according to the authorities.
Dozens of residents were evacuated after they were surrounded by water.
The storm led to overflowing rivers and a power outage in several neighborhoods in Cape Town, the tourist city overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
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