About 300 flood victims who were occupying a Transnet building in Durban were evicted on Monday morning.
They had been living in the empty residential building, known as Montclair Lodge, for more than two weeks.
Victims were accommodated in various halls after the floods hit KwaZulu-Natal in April.
Residents had been complaining about conditions in the halls as they were living with children and the elderly.
Gugu Kheswa, a spokesperson for uMsinsi Wokuzimilela SA Native Movement (Uwsanm), addressed residents outside the building, saying the court should have communicated the date before they sent the sheriff to evict them.
“We are very angry, as the movement, we call upon the eThekwini metro to intervene. Elderly people had been without meals since they were evicted in the morning, others are diabetic, they [are] supposed to have taken their chronic medication on time but [did] not.”
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They were still waiting for their lawyer to find possible solutions to cater for the residents.
Gloria Ndlela, 66, who said she was diabetic, nearly fainted when she saw people wearing red overalls kicking doors and throwing their belongings outside.
“I haven’t eaten since [this] morning. I am sitting here wondering what is next. I haven’t taken my chronic medication because I was forcefully evicted from the building.
“I will die here with no help as my eyes are starting to be blurry. I am seeking help from the government to take us to a better place where we can find refuge to [soften] the trauma we endured since these people started to evict us from the premises,” Ndlela said.
Phozisa Mthethwa, 18, a matriculant from eNaleni High School in Umlazi, said living conditions at the halls were bad as they could smell sewage from broken pipes.
“We were living at Mega Village, an informal settlement next to Mega City, Umlazi V section shopping mall, where our homes were washed away by floods in April.
“I am failing to cope with my studies, I still need to have undergone a proper counselling to revitalise my mind after what we saw during the floods,” Mthethwa said.
