Three people have died and hundreds are being sheltered after heavy rain lashed the Eastern Cape this week.
The Daily Dispatch reported that residents in flood-prone Port St Johns had to scramble to safety on Thursday.
Videos on social media showed schoolchildren and residents wading through flooded areas on their way home, while several cars were seen trying to make their way through the water.
The municipality's mayor told the publication affected residents were being evacuated.
Among organizations assisting with relief is Gift of the Givers, which confirmed it had been dispatched to assist.
The organization's Ali Sablay gave an overview of the situation on the ground.
"Roads were inaccessible. In Ingquza Hill there were three missing people. All credit to the South African Police Service's diving team [which] managed to retrieve two of the bodies — a 52-year-old and a 24-year-old. The body of a 40-year-old is still missing.
"Seven bridges in Port St Johns are inaccessible, as are 82 gravel roads which leave the rural areas, [and] the R61, the main highway in Port St Johns."
Sablay confirmed that 320 residents were being temporarily sheltered.
The floods also damaged major infrastructure and left residents without access to clean drinking water and electricity.
"Gift of the Givers' teams have been on standby since we received the calls, but we cannot access the area because of the roads. The urgent need at the moment is feeding these people."
He said the municipality had also requested mattresses, blankets, linen and building materials. Stationery and school uniforms were also needed.
"What's so sad about this tragedy is that it's not one ward or two, it's 12 wards that have been severely affected.
"In the past floods, it was easy to move into these areas, but at the moment gravel roads are inaccessible. You need heavy machinery to clear the roads. Nobody's been able to get in or out at this point because of the mudslides. Most of the gravel roads got washed away," he said.
Once the roads are cleared, Sablay said Gift of the Givers and other disaster management teams would head into the area and provide much-needed relief.
KZN Hail
A. Yellow Level 2 Warning for severe thunderstorms with large hail, strong winds and heavy downpour leading to damage to property, livestock, endangering lives,localised flooding of susceptible roads, informal settlements and low lying bridges are expected in northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, south-eastern parts of Mpumalanga spreading to the Lowveld areas in the evening.