Journalists flying over the coast of northern KwaZulu-Natal for almost half a day received a clearer picture of the devastation caused by floods in the region.
The team of journalists took to the air with KwaZulu-Natal Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele, who organised the helicopter trip, to assess the extent of the damage.
We took off from Durban, and made our first stop near the Mzingazi River bridge that was washed away.
Proceeding further north, we were horrified by the aerial view showing vast parts of the rural areas submerged in the murky water.
Huge plantations (maize, pineapple and sugar-cane) belonging to farmers were flooded.
The rivers were still overflowing and according to the regional director of transport in charge of the Zululand region, Simon Oloo, the situation was far worse two days before.
Many houses in the rural areas collapsed or were washed away and there were pools of water around other homes.
The Mkhuze River was overflowing, with water covering large parts of Mkhuze game reserve.
In the afternoon, Ndebele, who was shocked by the devastation, decided to call off the assessment.