Durban — In recent times the province of KwaZulu-Natal has gradually become synonymous with disasters. Disasters that have hit the province in a period of less than five years have claimed the lives of several people, resulting in widespread damage to infrastructure and homes, and impacting service delivery.

Among the disasters to which KZN is still recovering from include:

* April 2022 when the province of KwaZulu-Natal experienced hazardous weather storms, with heavy rainfall that led to the loss of lives and massive damage to infrastructure in many parts of the province, including rural and urban areas.

The inclement weather conditions that occurred from April 11 to 13, 2022 saw all 10 districts spread between the north and south coast were the worst affected. They include eThekwini, Ugu, King Cetshwayo, iLembe and uMgungundlovu, which were impacted by heavy rains, damaging winds and flooding. At least 448 fatalities were recorded, impacted 16 672 households and affected 116 708 people.

The National Disaster Management Centre classified the flooding as a provincial disaster.

* On April 14, 2024, heavy rains that caused havoc in KwaZulu-Natal’s Ugu District municipality and the eThekwini Metro Municipality were noted as the cause of extensive damage to businesses, households and infrastructure and the loss of some lives.

Five people were confirmed dead in the Margate area, while two were reported to be injured in the Umgababa area, south of Durban.

* Additionally, June 3, 2024, was one for the books after strong winds and heavy rains ravaged some parts of the province, leading to mass destruction in five districts, including eThekwini Metro, iLembe, King Cetshwayo, Umzinyathi, Amajuba and Umkhanyakude District Municipalities.

Twelve fatalities were reported, with seven people from the Tongaat area in eThekwini, which suffered the most impact in this disaster.

* Two weeks ago, huge fires gutted some areas of the province, leading to loss of human life, livelihoods, stock and infrastructure.

The runaway fires devastated parts of King Cetshwayo, uThukela, and uMzinyathi Districts on July 7 2024. The widespread veld fires affected local municipalities of uMlalazi, Mthonjaneni, Okhahlamba, and uMvoti, destroying homes, grazing pastures, and vehicles and livestock.

Last Saturday, the Kenville Informal Settlement was also ravaged by fires, leaving 400 people homeless after one informal settlement reportedly caught fire, ultimately destroying over 200 houses.

A day later, six firefighters lost their lives in the area of Boston, near Mpophomeni in the uMngeni Local Municipality while battling a blaze in a local plantation. They were providing assistance to fight fires on the Sterling Farm, about 30 kilometres away from Bulwer in southern KZN. Reports indicated that adverse weather conditions contributed to uncontrollable fires which ultimately trapped eight members.

As recovery operations in KwaZulu-Natal continue, Premier Thami Ntuli estimated the costs from last month’s storms to be R 2.3 billion.

The premier said that these incidents had affected over 3 491 people, and 14 people had been confirmed to have died as a result of the fires.

The premier has indicated that there are efforts to have the province declared a disaster area stemming from the recent episodes.

The Provincial Disaster Management Centre was finalising rapid assessment processes and consolidating the report to be submitted to the National Disaster Management Centre. Such a move would enable KZN to access emergency funding that would fast-track the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure.

The premier conceded that the recent spate of fires was also a cause for concern. “We have been astounded by the frequency of these fires. There have been winter and fire seasons before, but we have never experienced such devastation,” said Ntuli.

He appealed for a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire.

“Without casting any aspersions, the Executive Council is of the view that the police need to leave no stone unturned in investigating the cause of these wildfires. We are extremely concerned by the number of these fires,” the premier emphasised.

Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal Civil Society Unmuted Coalition has also urged the government and organised agriculture to immediately implement early warning runaway veld fire detection systems, decrying the damage caused especially the loss of lives.

In addition to this, the coalition has called on municipalities to extend fire warning public education to informal settlements communities to prevent loss of shelter and lives in future.

Coalition spokesperson Bandile Mdlalose also urged the provincial government to ensure the availability of all Disaster Management Teams in all Districts to aid the affected communities.

“As we are still in the middle of the fire season, we would like to urge the District Disaster Management Teams working with the KZN Fire Protection Association and organised agriculture and Forestry Companies like Mondi and Sappi to exercise extreme caution when creating fire breaks especially making sure they work in concert with the local office of the SA Weather Service to get real-time up to date wind forecasts to prevent uncontrollable destructive fires,” said Mdlalose, who is also the National Deputy Secretary General of the Coalition.

In addition, the coalition would like the Government of National Unity to declare a state of disaster so the funds can be allocated to help in this situation.

Sunday Tribune