Flood damage overflows

IN THE BILLIONS: ROADS, BRIDGES, SCHOOLS, HOUSES TOTALLY DESTROYED

Most affected areas have been declared disaster zones.

The department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) in KwaZulu-Natal says at least R9 billion is needed to fix the damage caused by floods in the province.

Cogta Minister Thembi Nkadimeng and MEC Bongiwe SitholeMoloi surveyed the most affected areas including Ugu, uThukela, eThekwini and iLembe.

uThukela alone has recorded 26 fatalities.

These areas have been classified as disaster zones.

“The damage has made us lose infrastructure worth about R2 billion and this is only for uThukela district.

“For others, we may be looking at R9 billion and more to fix the damage,” Sithole-Moloi told Newzroom Afrika yesterday.

“We don’t have the money, but we have to find a way because some of the affected infrastructure includes roads, bridges, schools and houses that have been totally destroyed.

“We must try and restore these so that people can then normalise their lives.”

Last week, the KZN education department announced the floods caused severe damage to school infrastructure, with 59 schools in nine of the 12 districts affected.

“We can’t do anything about it because it is natural.

“We find ourselves in climate change and it has caused us so much trouble.

“Since the beginning of the festive season, the rain has never stopped.”

As of yesterday morning, the death toll from the floods stood at 60, with six people missing.

But the number could change at any moment, as people sometimes take some time to report their loved ones missing, said Sithole-Moloi.

The province was also experiencing infrastructure challenges, as there were people who had built their houses in flood-prone areas, despite government warning them not to, she said.

“Because of the increasing number of people living in these areas, the infrastructure there needs to be looked at and expanded to be able to accommodate all the people,” she said.

“Some desperate people built houses on the flood plain where they’re not supposed to.

“When we tell them to move away, they tell us ‘it’s near town where I am working’.

“So we have to work with communities and get more funding to improve our infrastructure.

“We’re aware of the housing backlog and wish that we could do more.

“But we are appealing to communities to bear with government and work with us when we issue alerts.

“In Ladysmith, the number and capacity of the valves we put in those stormwater drains could not reduce the flow.

“At least it’s better now than it used to be.

“Most of the people have not been evacuated to halls and safe areas.

“They were able to be taken in by their relatives and neighbours.”

The province is also working on a plan to improve the ageing infrastructure that is not keeping up with the demands of inclement weather.

“We are in talks with the water and sanitation department to ensure that the dams are upgraded and are not a threat to the people when they overflow.

“We’re not saying that this is the problem, but we’re being proactive,” she said.

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