JOHANNESBURG — At least 20 people have died in South Africa's eastern coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal due to unusually heavy rainfall, according to media reports, while officials were still trying to assess the extent of the damage.

In addition, several people are considered missing.

There are fears that numerous people have been injured while damage to property was extensive. The military has been put on alert. The city of Durban was particularly badly affected. There were numerous landslides with many critical transport routes now under water.

The situation was aggravated by power outages while the country's aging infrastructure appeared unable to absorb the masses of water. The authorities called on the public to stay indoors as the rainfall continues.

KwaZulu-Natal emergency services spokesperson Robert Mckenzie told the local broadcaster eNCA that disaster management teams had been evacuating people from the areas experiencing mudslides and flooding.

Key highways linking South Africa’s biggest port to the commercial hub of Johannesburg and its eastern seaboard were closed as severe flooding hit KwaZulu-Natal.

The so-called N3 highway that connects Johannesburg to the port of Durban has been closed to southbound traffic because of debris on the road caused by the floods, KWaZulu-Natal’s Transport Department said on Twitter.

Bridges on the N2, the main highway along the nation’s Indian Ocean coastline, have been washed away, Parboo Sewpersad, a spokesman for eThekwini Metropolitan police, said on Durban-based East Coast Radio.

On social media, residents shared videos of water rushing into houses and settlements. — Agencies