National disaster declared in South Africa following floods, storms
The severe weather resulted in the loss of life, damage to property, infrastructure and the environment as well as the disruption of basic services, he said.
JOHANNESBURG: A national disaster has been declared in South Africa following severe floods and storms that left more than 10 people dead and affected seven of the country’s nine provinces.
Elias Sithole, the head of South Africa’s National Disaster Management Center, declared a national disaster in an official notice dated Tuesday, citing the impact of the “severe weather.”
Disruptive rains, floods, strong winds and hail from Oct. 22 to 29 caused a significant impact in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, Sithole said.
The severe weather resulted in the loss of life, damage to property, infrastructure and the environment as well as the disruption of basic services, he said.
The storms and floods killed at least 10 people and displaced hundreds more in the Eastern Cape alone, according to local media reports.
“After assessing the magnitude and the severity… I classify the impact caused by this severe weather system in the areas listed as a national disaster,” Sithole stated.
The declaration of a national disaster will allow the national government to release funds to the affected provinces, enabling them to address the damage caused by the floods.
-Xinhua
