Efforts are underway to assist residents affected by the recent heavy floods in Durban. Motorists are urged to be on high alert as many of the roads in the city are flooded.
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The eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services teams remain on high alert as the South African Weather Service has issued a Level 4 weather warning across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Heavy downpours leading to flooding, excessive lightning, hail and damaging winds are expected over the western and southern parts of the province, said eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana.
“So far, no reports have been received in eThekwini, however, motorists are urged to be on high alert as some roads in various parts of the city have been flooded,” said Ms Sisilana. “The city calls on motorists and residents to exercise extreme caution and take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety. The city is also engaging with the deceased family members to assist with funeral arrangements.”
The aid comes after the recent heavy rains that occurred which severely affected Lamontville and other areas in the South of Durban. The floods claimed the lives of seven people while some sustained injuries after their structures were destroyed. The seventh person is however still missing, and the search to recover the body continues, Ms Sisilana added.
A political delegation visited Lamontville last week, where five casualties were reported. Following this incident, about 160 affected people from Lamontville were relocated to a temporal descent accommodation while a permanent solution is sought.
“The National Department of Human Settlements and the municipality are currently in search of a suitable land to build houses for displaced families and those that are the most vulnerable during severe weather,” said Ms Sisilana. “Demolition has started in the transit camp where the affected flood victims resided. There were 71 transit camps in eThekwini to address various natural disasters, with 10 140 families residing in them.
About 29 transit camps were relocated into various housing projects, including Cornubia, north of Durban.”
According to the latest Human Settlements statistics, a total of 3 676 families have been relocated with 2 224 units demolished. A balance of 7 916 families within 42 transit camps are still in the current backlog to be relocated. The remaining transit camps are all planned to be relocated by 2027, said Ms Sisilana.
The city is currently in the process of reprioritising all the small transit camps within short, medium and long term intervention to be aligned with the implementation programme for Cornubia housing development.
In line with the imperatives of the Constitution, the city continues to make every effort to ensure that these families are afforded their progressive right to decent shelter, said Ms Sisilana.
“A cause for concern however that is worth noting is the resistance from some communities who are opposed to the resettling of flood victims on government-owned land next to their properties, under what is called ‘Not in My Backyard’ syndrome. The reality is that government cannot rebuild on the very unsuitable land that saw homes being washed away during floods,” said Ms Sisilana.
She added that communities opposed to such housing developments must understand that the ‘Not In My Backyard’ syndrome negatively impacts the city’s ability to assist unemployed, needy people from benefiting from housing opportunities. Ms Sisilana said it further delays implementation of projects which have obtained all statutory approvals from the planning cycle. There are also costs implications caused by such resistance.
Meanwhile, spheres of government including Human Settlements, Health, Social Development, Education, Municipality’s Disaster Management, and City Fleet are involved, providing necessary support to the affected residents.
The City’s Disaster Management and Emergency Control unit and non-profit organisations namely Al-Imdaad Foundation, Red Cross, Gift of the Givers, UIPCO and Toyota South Africa are also providing humanitarian aid and food to floods victims.
Assessments are continuing in all areas affected by heavy downpour to ascertain the impact of damages in the infrastructure and determine the budget required for repairs. As part of necessary precautionary measures, eThekwini teams are working tirelessly to create awareness on waste disposal and the impact in storm water drainage system resulting in flooding. The Municipality urges the public to continue to report emergencies on 031 361 0000.