This is a put together Blog regarding the recent floods in South Africa Kzn, what i personally think is also related to Climate Change and the Polar Shift.
The slow recover of all what has been lost through flood victims is going so be a very slow, sad and bumpy road for many.
The iLembe District is mourning the loss of 30 people as a result of the floods that devastated parts of KwaZulu-Natal last Monday. eThekwini recorded the greatest loss of life, with the death toll sitting at 399 as at Monday, April 18.
Five people died in the King Cetshwayo District, seven in Ugu and two in uMzinyathi, with the death toll expected to climb as people are still missing in several areas. Counting the costs of the damage KwaDukuza Mayor Lindile Nhaca said undoubtedly the loss of life was the greatest.
She said through several assessment visits they have established "the huge damages experienced by various communities is unquestionably in the millions and has both strategic and economic implications".
"Our roads and bridges have been severely damaged, most of them collapsed, totally. Our storm water system was exposed to heavy rainfall, making them inadequate and not sufficient to manage the amount of water received. Our electrical infrastructure had been compromised and most areas experienced outages which in some areas took more than 24 hours to restore.
"We are also receiving reports from various areas about power outages leading from Monday's events. Most communities that reside along floodplains and low-lying areas were the ones that were severely affected. Several private properties have been damaged by the subsequent flooding from both poor to the most affluent communities."
She said there are several provincial roads which have been compromised by the floods and which require urgent attention, including the N2 Toll road. Speaking about the number of deaths, she said, "We expect that from the ongoing rescue missions and assessments, we get to a point where we have a much clearer picture of the account of lives that have been lost as well as the full extent of damages to infrastructure so that we may begin to apply for funding from provincial and national departments." She said the floods came at a heavy cost. "Families have been displaced. This flooding has caused damages to both public and private property - it has disrupted our livelihoods in an unprecedented way, causing injuries and the loss of many lives throughout the province. "I wish to extend my deepest condolences to all those who lost their loved ones during this ordeal, I extend this message to families, relatives, and friends. I hope that they find solace in the knowledge that they are not alone during these difficult times," said Nhaca.
Displaced People
A total of 50 people are reported to have been displaced in Shakaville, D-Section (Ward 18). The mayor said, "They are temporarily accommodated at the hall, among them are minors. In Lindelani, Ward 5 a total of 32 people were displaced, they were temporarily accommodated at the hall. A total of 30 people in Shakaville are without shelter, they were temporarily accommodated at the hall. "In Shakas Head, 43 people are temporarily accommodated at the community hall. In Driefontein, we have 17 displacements, who have been temporarily accommodated at Sinqobile Hall. A total of seven people were displaced in Chris Hani and Ntshawini, they are also temporarily accommodated at the Chris Hani Hall. A total ofseven people have been displaced in Ward 24, they have been temporarily accommodated at a church in the community. "A total of six people have been displaced in Ward 19 at the CBD, they were temporarily based at the KwaDukuza Town Hall overnight while 14 others were accommodated at the KwaDukuza SAPS. An estimated number of people whose homes were affected are over 200," she said. Speaking about the roads and bridges that collapsed, the mayor said no amount of design capacity could cope with such weather. "These bridges were designed for worst case scenarios. Our officials will continue with their assessments on this front to ascertain the actual costs. We have sourced several TLBs through our supply chain, we hope that this will ease the burden on our shoulders and reopen our roads once again." She said their priority is to accommodate the displaced people, reopen roads and start rebuilding. "Our roads will take time to repair but, we will be taking extraordinary measures to ensure that our people can gain access. We will be issuing traffic alerts via our social media to update the community on roads that are still closed."
Housing
The damages incurred after the rainfall in the past week had a prevalence on low-cost housing. "We have so far ensured that we move all the victims to places of safety. We have plans in place to ensure that we start rebuilding. Our approach is to first ensure that all those who have been displaced find shelter until a time when it will be feasible for them to reintegrate with their community and families. We will be building temporary structures in their homes but that cannot be possible if the inclement weather persists," said Nhaca.
The mayor said also hugely affected was the electricity grid. "Our grid was hugely disrupted by the weather conditions on Monday, and some areas are still off. We are working on one area at a time to ensure that we get the networks back on. This is not a time to prioritise individuals but a time to serve the interests of everyone equally. Our teams are on the ground and pushing a 24-hour shift to ensure that we get everybody back to the grid. Damages to electricity are estimated at a value of R6 million based on preliminary findings. Our assessments continue."
On Saturday morning Nhaca briefed the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Peggy Nkonyeni and the Minister for Transport Fikile Mbalula on the state of roads in KwaDukuza.
The area has been largely affected by the floods and the mayor used the opportunity to lobby both leaders to ensure that KwaDukuza remains on the priority list in the province.
"KwaDukuza roads are the most impacted throughout the province. At some point, things will get back to normality. It may take some time, that's why I am lobbying the MEC to focus on KwaDukuza so that our roads can start moving and that our economy gets back to work with speed."
She said, "We have the N2, a high economic route which connects the Durban - Richards bay corridors and R102 which is the regarded as provincial mobility corridor. We have been experiencing heavy and frustrating traffic of late - it's true, the people have had enough with the long queues, people want to move, people also want the economy to move.
The disturbance of the two main corridor roads within our area is affecting both provincial and local economy."
The mayor also joined the MEC, visiting several affected roads in KwaDukuza, with a particular focus on provincial road R102 and local municipality roads.
