Lerato Mbhiza
THE DA has called upon the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Thembi Nkadimeng to immediately intervene in the KwaZulu-Natal flood disaster management by doing a basic risk assessment plan followed by contingency plans because of the failure of the provincial government to deal with the situation.
The DA’s Jacques Smalle said the ANC-led province has failed to develop and mitigate against high-risk flooding areas.
“Their lack of understanding of municipal water systems, sources of flooding, and the impact of pluvial flooding is once again affecting the lives and livelihoods of residents.
“Questions raised in Parliament earlier this year by the DA had highlighted that the department has no knowledge of the level of expertise at its disposal, thus preventing appropriate and effective action when disaster strikes”.
Heavy rains caused havoc in the last few days in Ladysmith and resulted in the deaths of 21 people while rescue operations continue searching for those still missing.
KZN Police spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda said search and rescue officials will continue to look for four more people today who are reported missing.
“The KwaZulu Natal provincial emergency services in conjunction with various government and other private institutions, continued the search mission following the Ladysmith floods. An unconfirmed number of four victims are still outstanding and we will continue with the search operation.
“The Mobile Command Post will move further downstream on Saturday to facilitate the deployment of rescuers.”
KZN Cogta spokesperson, Siboniso Mngadi urged those who have lost loved ones to go to their nearest police station as soon as possible.
The Al-Imaad Foundation has been assisting personnel on the ground and the organisation’s
spokesperson Irfaan Ahmed said the wet weather conditions have hampered the massive search mission, which involves around 60 members of the country’s K9 unit.
“I have been a resident of Ladysmith as well. We had previously had floods hit Ladysmith about two years back, but it was not to such devastation where we lost many lives and it took us many days to locate those bodies, and it is the worst to hit Ladysmith thus far.”
The weather is currently holding up, but there is a 30% chance of rain, with a 60% chance of rain and thunderstorms forecast for Sunday.
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