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Toyota South Africa Motors has closed its Prospecton plant in Durban which was flooded due to heavy rains which lashed the province since Monday.
At least 60 people were reportedly killed when the deluge flooded homes and washed away many roads in Durban and elsewhere.
Toyota says operations have been suspended since Monday night, while efforts towards a safe start-up are in place, once the water has been cleared.
The Motor Industry Staff Association, which has members in the component manufacturing sector, says it is devastated by the flooding and the impact it will have on members who are still recovering from the devastation of Covid19.
Spokesperson, Sonja Carstens, says the flooding occurred less than a week after Toyota announced that 10 198 Light Commercial vehicles were either built or assembled at the Prospecton Plant in Durban, images of the flooded plant emerged.
This plant was responsible for over 10 000 of the vehicles sold locally last month, according to an earlier statement released by Toyota.
MISA will donate R90 700 to the Gift of the Givers Foundation which is busy providing blankets and warm meals to displaced communities. Gift of the Givers is the largest disaster response non-governmental organisation in Africa.
The Union, its staff, and the MISA office bearers contributed in less than an hour.
