The Head of the National Disaster Management Centre has declared the floods experienced in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as a provincial disaster that has so far left at least 306 people dead and caused billions of rands of damage to critical infrastructure, including roads, homes, buildings, major water pipes and reservoirs.
“The classification of the floods as a provincial disaster follows the recommendation and assessments done by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre on the magnitude and severity of the impact of the severe weather events occurring in KZN that resulted in the loss of life and damage to property, infrastructure and the environment as a result of heavy rain, flooding, strong winds and landslides,” Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) spokesman Lungi Mtshali said.
The Disaster Management Act, Section 40 read with section 23(8), designates the primary responsibility to coordinate and manage the disaster to the provincial government.
“All state organs are urged to further strengthen support to existing structures to implement contingency arrangements and ensure that measures are put in place to enable the KZN Province to effectively deal with the effects of this disaster,” Mtshali said.
The provincial disaster announcement follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s trip to KZN on Wednesday where he witnessed the massive destruction caused by the heavy rains that fell across the province.
KZN Provincial Government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said the floods had left at least 306 people dead and caused billions of rands worth of destruction to critical infrastructure across the province. More than 50 Durban suburbs were still without water on Thursday, with some taps having run dry on Monday night. Power and fibre and 4G internet outages have been reported across the city.
Water and electricity supply has also been badly affected in most other regions of KZN and more than 200 schools were damaged in the floods.
Vodacom and MTN reported that 900 cellphone towers had been damaged collectively.
Ramaphosa was accompanied by Premier Sihle Zikalala, Mayor of EThekwini Mxolisi Kaunda and Deputy Mayor Philani Mavundla, Minister of Cogta Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Police Bheki Cele, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, and MECs as he visited Clermont, Mzinyathi, Mawoti, Ntuzuma and Lindelani areas to inspect the extent of the damage and to offer comfort and support to bereaved families.
The presidential entourage witnessed instances where a number of homes had been washed away, where church roofs had collapsed on top of children, and bridges and roads damaged, cutting off entire villages and sections of township.
“The visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to these storm-damaged areas has been a welcome boost to our call for the province to be declared a state of disaster. We are pleased that the president was able to take the whole day to come witness for himself the havoc that has been unleashed by the recent heavy rains,” Zikalala said.
Last night the Provincial Executive Council convened another special meeting where it resolved to intensify efforts to respond to disaster incidents.
On Thursday morning, MECs visited affected districts and profiled affected families to quantify the damage and immediate intervention.
“The magnitude of the disaster is unprecedented and requires the provincial government, municipalities and social partners to be all hands on deck. The provincial government is also mobilising resources to speed up the recovery of missing people,” Mtshali said.
“Today Eskom and municipalities will give a report on efforts to restore water and electricity in all affected areas. Cabinet is aware that interventions are hampered to an extent by disrupted infrastructure networks, but has directed that no effort must be spared in reaching the affected people,” he said.
* The figure of 306 dead from the flooding in KZN was reported at the time this post was prepared for publicity. Freight News has since learned that the fatality figure has gone up to 450.
