As part of the intensive response to widespread flooding that has affected seven of South Africa’s nine provinces, President Cyril Ramaphosa has now declared a national state of disaster to allow the country to deal with the phenomenon.
According to a statement from the office of the presidency on Monday, heavy rainfall brought about by the La Nina weather phenomenon has hit Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape, thereby making the areas most affected by the floods.
Flooding has also been experienced in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and North West. Invoking the national disaster act will give the government additional powers, including in the procurement and delivery of goods and services and the ability to bypass restrictions under current law.
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The floods have resulted in wide-ranging impact, from flooded homes and vehicles to “the loss of basic infrastructure,” and the national police and defence force may now be called on to help respond to the flooding, a statement released in the capital was quoted as saying, adding that crop and livestock losses will continue as the government’s weather service forecasts that the weather pattern will remain “during the early part of 2023,” it said.
Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster last week over South Africa’s power crisis, as daily rolling power cuts are paralyzing businesses. The national disaster act was also invoked in March 2020 to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and last April to respond to floods in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
