Devastating KZN Floods Declared a Provincial Disaster

The South African government has declared this week’s KwaZulu-Natal floods as a provincial disaster. National Disaster Management Centre head, Dr Mmaphaka Tau, said the classification came after deliberations with sector departments and the KZN Provincial Disaster Management Centre.

The devastating floods had claimed over 300 lives by Thursday.

Dr Tau said the disaster management centre assessed the magnitude and severity of the impact of the severe weather events occurring in various municipal areas of the province. These events have resulted in the loss of life and damage to property, infrastructure and the environment caused by heavy rain, flooding, strong winds and landslides, he said.

The KZN provincial government earlier this week called for a State of Disaster to be declared as this classifications enables “the province to apply for emergency funding from National Treasury and grant authority to reprioritise our current budgets in order to address the reconstruction work necessary to bring the province back to normal.”

COGTA has urged all state organs to support and ensure KZN is able to effectively deal with the effects of this disaster.

In 2019, the Department of Environment drew up a plan for South Africa to adapt to climate change, which includes strengthening its preparedness to respond more quickly to weather disasters and help victims recover.

Clean-up operations are underway today, although the South African Weather Service has forecast more rain to continue throughout the Easter Weekend.

SAPeople contributor Carol Malley said today there was still no water or power in her area (Drummond) or most of Ethekwini metropol, but that “roads are being fixed so hopefully by the weekend we will have some sort of normality. ?”

Public Notice: EThekwini Water Challenge pic.twitter.com/yDSVFRq7Z4

— eThekwini Municipality (@eThekwiniM) April 14, 2022

Yesterday President Cyril Ramaphosa visited some of the flood affected areas in KZN and spoke to family members who lost their relatives in the floods. He said: “This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government in partnership with communities.”

[Watch] #KZNFloods | The President said: “This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government in partnership with communities.” #KZNWeather pic.twitter.com/QcNRgau0wF

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) April 13, 2022

[Watch] #KZNFloods President Cyril Ramaphosa inspecting the KwaZulu-Natal flood damage #KZNWeather pic.twitter.com/qMr3A84QxP

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) April 13, 2022

Nonkululeko Mdlalose details how their family home was destroyed by the #KZNFloods, resulting in the loss of 10 members of their family. Government is coordinating relief efforts to provide assistance to affected families for their immediate needs. pic.twitter.com/QpNyEyrKXN

— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) April 13, 2022

Sources: SAnews.gov.za, Reuters