After being hit by deadly floods, South Africa began assessing the destruction of a week of violent weather in the Durban region on the east coast on Tuesday (April 19).
At least 448 people were killed, according to a new report released that evening, and the first economic estimates are in the hundreds of millions of euros. “Five new bodies found today”The province’s chief minister, Sihle Zikalala, said on the spot. “The worst floods we’ve ever seen”previously regretted the minister in charge of disaster management, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Heavy rainfall and landslides have caused chaos in the agglomeration of the port city of 3.9 million inhabitants, epicenter of the disaster in Kwazulu-Natal: grooved roads, collapsed bridges, stripped pipes. The president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Monday declared a state of national disaster, which should allow the release of exceptional resources.
Helicopters are still flying over the city in search of dozens of people who are still missing. The influx of corpses has put pressure on the morgues.
The water challenge
Throughout the day, ministers visited schools, health facilities and badly damaged infrastructure. “The biggest challenge is water”, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said as he left a hospital where patients use buckets to wash and flush the toilet. Residents have had no drinking water for eight days, 80% of the city network has been affected. Nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed, more than 13,500 damaged. Tankers try to reach the population, but areas remain inaccessible. Authorities said they have restored power almost everywhere, but the country is plagued with new load shedding due to aging infrastructure.
About 10,000 soldiers, including plumbers and electricians, are being deployed to assist with rehabilitation. Air support has been strengthened, especially for the transport of goods. Troops were sent to distribute reservoirs and install water purification systems.
“I don’t understand why they waited so long to send the army. † What is it for now? To salvage corpses? †plague Olona Ngcobo, 26, who lost her home.
About 270,000 students have not returned to class, more than 600 schools have been affected. At least 27 million euros is needed for the reconstruction of the buildings alone, Education Minister Angie Motshekga also said on the spot.
“There must be absolute transparency”
The port of Durban, one of the most important maritime terminals in Africa and the cornerstone of economic activity in the country, is operational again. But currently, between 8,000 and 9,000 containers are waiting to be unloaded. Major damage to the road connecting the port to the rest of the country and the continent prevented the daily passage of 13,000 trucks carrying goods. Many companies have seen their equipment and locations destroyed.
The authorities therefore foresee hundreds of millions of euros in damage. An initial estimate for the repair of road infrastructure alone is almost 354 million euros. The government had already announced a €63 million emergency fund last week for the region, which had already been massively devastated in July during an unprecedented wave of riots and looting.
Some are already concerned about possible embezzlement, in a country with a long history of corruption: “There must be absolute transparency”claimed Karam Singh of the NGO Corruption Watch.
South Africa, faced with an unprecedented natural disaster, is generally spared the bad weather that regularly hits its neighbours, such as Mozambique or Madagascar.
