Durban Flood Damage April 2022

[Ralf198]

With the Durban Flood Damage April 2022 disruptions to water, roads and electricity have taken place.

I asked for someone for advice regarding a booking and was trying to find out how to best navigate the situation and then was told that there may be penalties applied.

Has anyone had a similar experience ?

Thank you

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ralf198 Just keep on at Airbnb until they accept it is an Extenuating Circumstance. I don't know the full situation but it doesn't feel like a normal weather issue.

If they don't accept it then you will lose Superhost status and be fined.

Final thought - Do you need to cancel? I wonder if the guest should be given the choice of coming or not depending on the state of the place/area. Of course depending on your cancellation policy they might be able to cancel for free.

[Ralf198]

Thanks  Mike and Janet.

Yes this is not a normal weather outcome.

Torrential rains that started lashing the southeastern coastal region last weekend  triggered heavy floods and some landslides that effected Durban city and eThekwini and surrounding areas, pulling with them buildings and people.

By Sunday 443 people, including two police emergency workers, had died from the  floods.

The Government declared a state of emergency.  The municipal Engineers have their hand full. We just have had the Electricity restored after more than  24hours of no Electricity  thus we also have had communication disruptions, thus a delayed response.

Some area do have water and we hope the situation will be better soon.

Your response is  truly valued.

Best Regards

Here is  picture of some of the damage.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ralf198 Once you have a state of emergency declared it really should be possible for Airbnb to do a neutral cancellation. Also if you get a message from the guest saying they can't/don't want  travel due to the emergency it will help you.

[Ralf198]

Thanks again Mike and Jane,

We had two bookings that have been affected by the state of emergency, with us having no water supply.  Both of the guests requested to cancel so it looks like we will not be getting any penalties or cancellations against us. We are just waiting for the AirBnb support to confirm.

Thanks so much for your help and advisory support.  

Best Regards

[Ralf198]

This type of flooding also occurred in 1987 so it may be a 35 year weather pattern.

In 2057 or nearby that time, this may happen again.

[Freelance0]

Good to know that there is a risk of penalties arising out of circumstances that a host has no control of.

Great to find communication regarding this and learn through this community center.  

Thanks to the community member that are participation here.

[Ralf198]

Many of the areas that were affected do now have water and electricity.

Thanks to all who helped.