South Africa has declared a national disaster in the Eastern Cape Province after devastating floods killed 101 people and caused widespread destruction.
Eastern Cape’s member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zolile Williams, said in a statement issued by the provincial government that, “The South African government has officially declared a national disaster in response to the widespread destruction caused by the severe weather, following a comprehensive assessment of the ongoing crisis.
“The declaration, made in terms of the Disaster Management Act, comes amid heavy rainfall, flooding, strong winds, and snowfall that have battered parts of the country, with the Eastern Cape being the hardest hit,” he said.
Over 101 people had died as a result of the disastrous weather conditions that hit the province, including 38 children.
Meanwhile, according to the statement, the floods on June 9-10 affected a total of 6,869 households, leaving 4,724 people homeless across the province, excluding the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, while 2,145 homes were partially damaged.
Farmers lost 1,339 livestock, and 1,803 hectares of crops were destroyed.
Williams further noted that the floods caused significant damage to both economic and social infrastructure.
“Infrastructure damage assessments have been completed. The cost of repairing damaged infrastructure is estimated at 5.1 billion rand (about 286 million U.S. dollars). About 3.2 billion rand is required across sector departments and 1.8 billion rand for municipal infrastructure, as per the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent assessments.
“An amount of 461 million rand is required for Temporary Residential Units. However, the province currently has 120 million rand, and we are appealing to the national government for intervention in this area,” he added.
Electricity supply has been restored to over 80 percent of affected customers, and more than 95 percent of the water supply has been restored in the O.R. Tambo and Amathole District Municipalities, which were the hardest hit.
“The government continues to appeal for support from the private sector, businesses, and individuals to assist with donations of food, clothing, blankets, furniture, and other essentials. Every contribution makes a meaningful difference in helping communities recover and rebuild. Together, we can ensure that no one is left behind as we work to restore dignity and hope to those impacted by this disaster,” he added.
Xinhua/Kamila