♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, climate catastrophe. the heartbreak and devastation of south africa's floods. >> it literally was minute by minute. one minute the road was there, the next minute it wasn't. >> the latest example of extreme weather around the globe. >> we tried to run away, but the children. >> what the tragedy says about climate change and who pays the harshest price? >> the rich can buy their way out of these problems. the poor cannot. plus nyle dimarco, the deaf model and actor who rose to fame on reality television. >> congratulations, you are america's next top model! >> channeling activism through

his art. >> how many times company hearing people say to you, deafness is a disability, and you say, no, no, no, deafness, it's a culture? >> absolutely. >> the oscar-nominated filmmaker breaking barriers and inspiring others. >> but honestly, you are your best opportunity. queen barbie. honoring elizabeth ii's 96th birthday in her platinum jubilee.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, the government of south africa is vowing to rebuild after devastating floods killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. scientists are blaming one of the worst natural disasters in south africa's history on climate change. as those torrential rains fell, the disparities between the haves and the have nots became even more apparent. abc's maggie rulli is on the ground in south africa for us tonight. >> reporter: the rain, unrelenting. the flooding, devastating. the aftermath, catastrophic. >> we tried to run away. my children. my young buy.

>> we just left with nothing. >> reporter: nearly 450 dead and 40,000 displaced in south africa after nearly two weeks of torrential rain. the area around the city of durban unrecognizable amidst the rubble. >> that's the road that collapsed. it used to go across here, now it's collapsed >> just the devastation's incredible to see up close. unimaginable. >> reporter: local leader alicia grew up here. she brought us to this informal settlement ripped apart by floodwaters. cars crushed. roads broken and washed away. vital infrastructure uprooted and smashed. safe drinking water is in short supply. people left carrying back what they can in buckets overhead. >> it literally was minute by minute. one minute the street was there, the next minute it wasn't. one minute the road was there, the next minute it wasn't. >> reporter: after record-breaking downpours, the heaviest rains in more than 60

years pummeled the province on the eastern coast. all this underscoring the link between natural disasters and climate change and laying bare exactly who pays the highest price when tragedy strikes. >> climate change has its greatest impacts on the most vulnerable in society. climate change actually increases disparity. the rich can buy their way out of these problems, the poor cannot. >> reporter: jasper knight is a professor and expert in how communities adapt and respond to climate change. >> partly due to the legacy of apartheid when people who were disadvantaged were pushed to the outskirts of urban areas, these poor african people have had to build their settlements and occupy locations that are already marginalized. so these locations might be in the bottoms of river valleys, next door to rivers that might flood, or they might be on steep, unstable slopes. so it's a critical combination

of a historical legacy really impacting upon the most vulnerable in society. >> this was the area that was cut off? >> yes. >> reporter: while the terror of the flooding has subsided, the reality of the aftermath is just setting in. >> where are you at the moment? >> reporter: alicia getting call after call from community members desperate for help. >> i get about 900 whatsapps, more than a couple hundred, maybe 300 calls. i have a street right now that hasn't had water for ten days. the cleanup, the pulling on the lights, fixing the roads, those things never stop. that is terrifying, because we can't go back to hour normal lives. >> reporter: many were already living in unsuitable conditions, shacks built on riverbeds and hillsides. >> just because they're hidden doesn't mean they don't exist. as they are hidden here, very few people have come here and seen this. i had to show you this destruction. sorry.

>> no, no, it's emotional. >> no, i mean -- >> this is your community. >> i've been here since five days. we're still looking for bodies. there's a 7-year-old girl that we cannot find, and her mom doesn't want to leave. >> reporter: rescuers wading through waist-deep floodwaters, at times even swimming, searching for the dozens still unaccounted for. the government sending in 10,000 troops into the disaster zone. earlier today, a child. now turned into temporary refuge, housing more than 150 people. how many days have you been living here? >> it's been a week. >> a week's a long time. >> reporter: it's here we meet 23-year-old connie, mother of two. >> too much rain. it was coming in every -- every houses just full of the rain. we just lost everything.

>> reporter: her children too young to understand the gravity of the situation they survived. >> when we talk about disasters and climate change, it's important to also discuss the ingredients of disasters. >> reporter: andrew is a senior research history studies global flash flood risk and forecasting. >> in this case, the climate side was the heavy rainfall. however, there's other ingredients that we also need to understand. and many of these are related to social vulnerability, communities having access to services. what is the infrastructure like in some of the communities that are very prone to the intense climate element of the disaster? then also, what are the policy, what are the governances around understanding risk, taking action before disaster happens? >> reporter: this historic storm and its heartbreaking destruction comes just weeks after a new u.n. climate report concluded delay means dead. >> nearly half of humanity is living in the danger zone now. many ecosystems are at the point

of no return now. >> reporter: we've seen this firsthand with our own reporting over just this past year. from wildfires in greece, forests and homes burned, covered in ash, still smoldering -- to flooding in germany -- >> so many people dead. >> reporter: to the wildfire currently raging in arizona. >> many times we talk about climate change, and there is a -- one way to describe it is, everyone's being impacted in different ways, it's just some communities, some people, are impacted much more profoundly. this is not only happening in south africa with disproportionality of impact. it's happening in every country globally. it happens in new york, where we saw tropical storm ida which led to flash floods and death, which communities saw impacts on lives and livelihoods in new york? it was the communities that are the underserved, some of the lower-income areas. >> reporter: in durban, the

once-beautiful beach now filled with trash. when the rains hit, floodwaters mixed with massive waves in the ocean churning up debris. we've seen shoes, bottles, cans, you can see this tree completely uprooted. this dangerous mess stretches for miles along the coastline. the president of south africa blames climate change as a driving force behind the storm and he says his country needs to prepare, because it's only going to get worse. >> what the government needs to do is to put in place a program to not only rebuild the missing infrastructure that has been washed away or damaged by the floods, but also to provide suitable housing for marginalized poor people, ensuring when all of the infrastructure is rebuilt that it is fit for purpose. it has to cope with the rigors of a 21st century world where we have climate change impacts. >> this concept of build back

better or, say, building more resilience, this must be linked with social justice if we're going to build a more climate-resilient also, but also a socially just world as well. >> reporter: for now the government has declared a state of disaster and promised resources. many say help isn't coming fast enough, and it's neighbors who are stepping up. >> the strongest of our community, without asking, without anything. >> reporter: alicia tells us people here are living minute by minute, many now getting ready for the painstaking work ahead to rebuild. >> the storm is bigger than you are. but everybody just got together and somehow made it work. that's what was amazing, the human spirit, amazing to watch. >> our thanks to maggie. nyle dimarco, the hollywood star and deaf activist, his remarkable rise shattering stereotypes along the way. my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. ruby's a1c is down with rybelsus®.

my a1c wasn't at goal, now i'm down with rybelsus®. mom's a1c is down with rybelsus®. (♪ ♪) in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? (♪ ♪) ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. (vo) purina one has the inside story onit starts inside the gut...

with purina one with new microbiome balance. natural prebiotic nutrition promoting gut health and immune support. purina one with new microbiome balance. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. what's the #1 retinol brand used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® tums vs. mozzarella stick when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites

♪ nyle dimarco wears many hats. he found success as a model, actor, now activist. he sees no limits to what he and other deaf artists can achieve. abc's kyra phillips met up with him. >> have you achieved deaf e utopia? >> i'm achieving it. i think slowly and bit by bit. but i'll never be satisfied. i'm insatiable and i always want more. ♪ people talking without speaking ♪ >> reporter: from breaking barriers to shattering

stereotypes, nyle dimarco has always been at the forefront -- >> congratulations, nile, you are america's next top model! >> reporter: representing deaf culture. >> i remember when i first won "america's next top model." my mom actually ran backstage, she came on set and immediately i said, i want to change the world. >> reporter: the deaf model, actor, and now acclaimed film and tv producer, is channeling his activism through his art. >> "coda." >> reporter: in a year where the deaf took center stage on hollywood's biggest awards night. >> this is our moment. >> reporter: the film "coda" just one of many films to make history. >> was the oscars a watershed moment? >> truly. but what most people don't realize is that along with "coda," we had somebody from our different categories. in five - coda, troy up for best

supporting actor, "audible," "dune" which features sign language, and "driving my car" which features sign language. >> reporter: short film "audible" was one of the nominees. >> we gotta go hard and continue to fight. >> what i hope to see more of in hollywood is that people invest in our stories by investing in us. by not only relying on representation in front of the camera, but that people are pulling that representation behind the camera, in directors' chairs in writers' rooms. >> reporter: his passion and advocacy inspired by a fierce family of fighters. your family confronted discrimination. >> yeah. >> your whole life. that helped you? >> yeah. my family, honestly, is fearless. and i have seen so many of the changes that they've gone through, generation to generation. so i see the changes have

happened. which i think has helped me grow thick skin. but again, i had access to language, which gave me a strong sense of identity and knowing that i was able to fight those battles with everything i have. >> reporter: four generations of ita italian-deaf dinners, drive, and determination. mom, you knew how to be an advocate. why? >> well, because of my appearance. i'm going to cry, sorry. because of my parents. they went to an oral school growing up, they weren't allowed to use sign language. i decided when i had kids, their language, their right to have language, is american sign language. >> she taught us, you know, that there was no glass ceiling, that we could do whatever we wanted. and it didn't matter if we could hear or not. >> here we are. >> it feels good. >> reporter: life lessons nyle

took to his alma mater "galluduet," the famed school d.c.,etng the s award-winning career, while also inspiring younger deaf dreamers to be the change. >> honestly, you are your best opportunity. you can do anything. >> reporter: from advice for life to a dramatic look at life itself, dimarco produced the netflix series "deaf u," an unvarnished, often provocative look at the deaf experience at galluduet. >> did you think we would ever have a connection again? >> i'm not donna lie, i don't mind sleeping with you. >> reporter: episodes exploring love, activism, discovering sexual identities while navigating a world not always designed for the deaf. >> i myself identify as queer. and growing up, obviously it

wasn't easy trying to assimilate to the expectations of a larger society that expected something different from me. but now that i have a seat at the table, i see that i want change and i have the power to impact it. i can highlight queer representation within my own community. >> you are a queer role model now. >> yeah. >> did you ever think in your wildest dreams you would be here now? >> no. if someone had told me five years ago that i would have won two different reality tv shows, that i would have produced two different docuseries on netflix, that one of those would be nominated for an oscar, and that i would be writing a book? i would absolutely say it was impossible. >> reporter: now dimarco is telling his incredible story in

a new memoir, "deaf utopia," his love letter to a way of life. how many times do hearing people say to you, deafness is a disability. and you say, no, no, no, deafness, it's a culture? >> absolutely, absolutely. so many times hearing people will question whether or not we have a culture. they're hesitant to believe that it even exists. but in fact, we have a language which means we have culture. i do hope that this book provides a little bit more insight to those people and that they see that in my upbringing. >> you write in your book, "every day i'm continuing to make strides, staying true to myself, embracing me, staying in tune with my sexual identity, it's an ongoing journey. for the moment, though, i know that i am truly happy." you are living "deaf utopia."

>> yeah, exactly. i really am living sort of in my own perfect world. and how i want it to be defined. i think that everyone has the power to do exactly that. you can design your own life. >> our thanks to kyra. up next, queen barbie. one icon pays tribute to another on her 96th birthday. before treating your chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more, you're not the only one with questions about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start, with about 10 minutes of treatment once every 3 months. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if a sample is available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection

causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. in a survey, 92% of current users said they wish they'd talked to their doctor and started botox® sooner. plus, right now, you may pay zero dollars for botox®. ask your doctor about botox® today.

♪

finally tonight, queen elizabeth is turning 96 on thursday. aong the many tributes to her majesty, the release of a special edition barbie in her likeness. the doll has its own crown jewels just like the queen and is dressed in a gown similar to what the royal has worn in her portraits through the years. even the packaging is meant to look like buckingham palace. o one of the places barbie visited in london. before posing outside windsor addition sell where the real queen now resides. the queen herself releasing this image today posing with her beloved ponies. that's "nightline" for this even. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.