Calls for areas affected by deadly weather to be declared disaster areas
Durban — The IFP has joined the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and DA to declare areas affected by the recent storm a disaster area.
On Sunday, IFP KwaZulu-Natal social development spokesperson Les Govender said the party calls on KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi and Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube to declare oThongathi a disaster area.
The call comes after a tornado swept through the North Coast of KZN leaving 12 dead and damaged homes and infrastructure.
“After visiting areas such as Sandfields, Fairbreeze, Magwaveni, Newtown, Seatides, Greylands, and others, and seeing the extent of the damage, we believe the government must provide immediate shelter to the homeless. We appeal to the MEC and the premier to declare the storm a disaster and activate all emergency mechanisms,” Govender said.
Govender said the disaster in oThongathi exposed critical weaknesses in preparedness, highlighting the need for better forecasting, communication, and sustainable land-use planning.
He also said resilience strategies must consider interlinked environmental and infrastructural systems, and prioritise predefined, multi-agency response plans to prevent confusion and delays.
“The IFP commends all first responders and NGOs who acted quickly despite difficult conditions. However, we condemn the reported looting of affected homes,” Govender continued.
He said traumatised residents need the government to speed up relief aid and help those without insurance to cover their losses. Most residents will struggle to recover on their own, and clean water and electricity must be urgently reinstated to prevent opportunistic diseases.
“Given the dire situation, the IFP urgently calls on the MEC to declare the area a disaster zone and provide relief without delay,” Govender said.
Earlier in the week, FF Plus KZN leader, Rochelle Robbetze, called on the eThekwini Municipality to declare affected areas such as oThongathi, disaster areas.
“It will unlock the resources needed to assist victims of the flood disaster and repair damage,” Robbetze said.
She said many people lost their lives and properties and infrastructure were severely damaged.
Robbetze said in trying times like these, it is important that communities reach out and join hands to help those in need by any means possible.
“The FF Plus will also do its part to provide support wherever it can,” Robbetze said.
“The FF Plus prays for those who have lost loved ones and property because of the floods.”
DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers said: “We are calling for the declaration of disaster areas in regions ravaged by last night’s (Monday) severe storm and will be writing to the KZN director general to formalise this request.”
He said it was more worrying that the provincial government seems to have learnt few lessons from past natural disasters, like the storm that devastated areas such as oThongathi, the Magwaveni informal settlement and La Mercy on Monday.
Rodgers said their oversight exposed a significant lack of lifesaving interventions such as:
- Lack of an early warning system
- Lack of evacuation plan
- Lack of priority for injured persons
- Lack of a proactive approach coupled with a slow response several hours later
“Declaring the affected communities as disaster areas will allow for much-needed relief intervention to be released swiftly,” Rodgers said.
“The DA in KZN will be engaging our colleagues on both a provincial and national government level to determine the level of assistance that can be offered.”
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