South Africa floods: President declares state of national disaster
Volunteers pick up debris on the North Beach after torrential rains over the past few days, in Durban, South Africa, April 15, 2022 © AFP, Rajesh Jantilal
Text by: RFI Follow
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Search and clean-up operations continue around Durban in the east of the country after deadly floods and landslides last week that left 443 people dead in the area.
Forty people are still missing.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the evening of Monday, April 18.
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The president highlighted the various mechanisms put in place to respond to the distress of the survivors, in addition to the aid of 63 million euros already promised.
Thus, Cyril Ramaphosa has again declared a state of national disaster, a provision which was in place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and which gives the government more leeway in times of crisis.
The toll of bad weather is indeed considerable.
In addition to hundreds of deaths, the floods displaced more than 40,000 people and completely destroyed more than 4,000 homes.
Read also: Floods in South Africa: the human toll continues to increase
To support the ongoing humanitarian operations, some 10,000 soldiers were deployed there at the beginning of the week.
In particular, the army must intervene in areas that are still deprived of water and electricity to provide emergency aid and restore access.
It must also support rescuers through aerial reconnaissance missions.
Other infrastructure was also damaged, such as nearly 600 schools, as well as the axes serving the port of Durban, one of the economic lungs of the country.
A few acts of looting were also reported.
The solidarity fund, set up in the midst of the Covid pandemic, should now make it possible to centralize donations.
The use of the funds will be closely scrutinized, according to the president, to avoid any corruption.
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South Africa
Natural disasters
Cyril Ramaphosa