South Africa
National state of disaster declared over heavy rains, flooding─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 07:36 Tue, 14 Feb 2023
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster after widespread flooding has affected seven of the nine provinces in South Africa.
According to the spokesperson for the Presidency, Vincent Magwenya, the national state of disaster has been declared to enable an intensive response to widespread floods in North West, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
Invoking the national disaster act gives the government additional powers, including the procurement and delivery of goods and services and the ability to bypass restrictions under current law.
Magwenya states that the National Management Center has received reports of flooded homes, vehicles that have been swept away by flood water, overflowing dams and sewage facilities that have also resulted in damage to infrastructure, while farmers have also suffered crop and livestock losses.
Magwenya warned that further losses are anticipated as heavy rains are expected to persist, as predicted by the South African Weather Service.
'Heavy rains will persist'
"These conditions have been brought on by the La Niña global weather phenomenon, which occurs in the Pacific Ocean but impacts a country like South Africa with above-normal rainfall. Forecasts indicate this weather pattern will remain in this state during the early part of 2023. The presence of a La Niña event usually has its strongest impact on rainfall during the mid-summer months."
"With the continued strengthening of the La Niña event, the country can expect above-normal rainfall and below-normal temperatures over the summer rainfall areas. Taken together, these conditions demand the provision of temporary shelters, food and blankets to homeless families and individuals and the large-scale, costly rehabilitation of infrastructure. National entities, including the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force, may be required to play a role in the response to the disaster.
President Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster last week over South Africa's power crisis. The national disaster act was also invoked in March 2020 to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, and in April 2022 to respond to floods in KZN.
