By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has classified the severe weather events in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape and Free State as a “national disaster”.
Last week’s floods, strong winds, tornadoes and snowfalls resulted in devastation across the three provinces and caused deaths, injuries, significant property damage and extensive damage to infrastructure.
The declaration comes as the KZN government on Wednesday announced that more than R1.3-billion was needed to deal with the damage in the province.
Head of the National Disaster Management Centre Dr Elias Sithole said the scale of the incidents had surpassed the capacity of the affected communities to manage the disaster using their resources, and as such, the centre had classified the situation as a national disaster due to its impact on at least three provinces, as per Section 23(6) of the Disaster Management Act.
This signifies a formal recognition from the government that the events pose a significant threat to health, public safety or the environment which municipal and provincial governments cannot address on their own.
Sithole urged all state organs to provide additional support to existing institutions to implement contingency plans and ensure measures were in place to enable the national government to deal with the disaster’s ramifications.
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng visited KwaZulu-Natal to assess the impact of the heavy storms that ravaged parts of the province, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
At least 11 people lost their lives, including seven people from uThongathi in the north of Durban, and four in Nquthu, Eshowe and KwaHlabisa.
Over 55 people were also reported to have suffered minor to moderate injuries and are receiving medical treatment in hospital.
She conveyed her sincere, heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones as a result of this disaster. She also wished those who suffered injuries a speedy recovery.
The provincial government says initial assessments show that more than 7 000 households have been damaged and at least 17 000 people have been affected.
Nkadimeng says R280 million is needed to rebuild damaged infrastructure.
“This means that government at the national level will collaborate with the province and the municipality trying to bring people’s lives to normality. There is quite a lot that needs to happen. In some areas people will need to be moved, that will be phase 2 which is what they call grey land area which has phase 1 and 2, which then means that there are services and infrastructure that needs to be built. We are looking around R280 million, to just put the infrastructure and the building of the houses.”
Nkadimeng has appealed for more assistance from the public and the private sector to help victims. She has also thanked organisations that are currently assisting the affected.
Last week, Nkadimeng and Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, visited areas devastated by floods in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
This is after parts of the Eastern Cape were flooded, with the most affected areas being the Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay metros.