Search and rescue team looking for bodies at Umzinyathi Falls in Inanda near Durban, South Africa, April 19, 2022. (STR / AP)

President Xi Jinping has sent a message of sympathy to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over the deadly floods that ravaged the nation's east coast, forcing it to declare a national state of disaster.

President Xi Jinping said he believes people in the flood-hit areas, under the leadership of the South African government, can overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date

In the message on Monday, Xi－on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name－expressed deep condolences over the deaths and conveyed his sympathy for the injured, the bereaved families and the people hit by the disaster.

Xi said he believes people in the flood-hit areas, under the leadership of the South African government, can overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date.

Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster on Monday over the devastating floods in the nation's KwaZulu-Natal province, saying "this is a humanitarian disaster that calls for a massive and urgent relief effort".

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At least 443 people have died and 48 are missing around the east coast city of Durban, he said in an online statement. Nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed and over 8,300 were partially damaged. More than 40,000 people were displaced by the floods, he added.