The founder of the internationally acclaimed Gift of the Givers humanitarian organisation, Imtiaz Sooliman, who has brought relief worldwide during disasters from war to hurricanes, says the flood devastation in KwaZulu-Natal has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises he has seen in SA.
Sooliman says the number of people affected is far greater than official figures indicate, and he fears the death toll will rise.
The devastating flooding, which claimed the lives of nearly 500 people, is the deadliest in SA yet. It has caught the attention of the world and global environmental bodies.
The destruction and loss of life show that climate change was already affecting SA, several ministers said during public engagements last week.
At an event hosted by the presidential climate commission, environmental affairs minister Barbara Creecy and transport minister Fikile Mbalula said the floods proved that climate change was no longer a slow-onset event but part of the lives of South Africans.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana echoed these sentiments at a separate event in KwaZulu-Natal for the launch of the second phase of the Southern Africa Towards Inclusive Economic Development Programme.
The cost of the damage caused by the flooding is estimated at R17bn. Nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed, more than 40,000 people displaced and over 600 schools affected.
Speaking to Business Day, Sooliman said the state of the humanitarian crisis was growing daily. Gift of the Givers is working with disaster management teams in KwaZulu-Natal to assist with providing food and shelter to the needy.
“We are working with various departments of government to assist. It has been a painful and heartbreaking experience,” Sooliman said.
“Families have lost loved ones; so many have lost all of their children. There are children who have lost parents, and throughout the region, [there are people who have] lost everything they ever owned and escaped with only the clothes on their backs.”
The organisation has dispatched engineers, geologists and humanitarian workers across the province where the need is greatest. One of their teams is stationed at Tongaat, north of Durban, where residents have been without fresh running water for more than 24 days. The damage to the water reticulation system is expected to take several months to repair.
The SA Human Rights Commission is investigating the situation and has expressed concern about the dire consequences to communities, schools, businesses and hospitals.
Humanitarian crisis
While search-and-rescue teams continue with their efforts to find the missing, Sooliman and his teams are focusing on the more pressing humanitarian crisis. “We are moving drilling teams into Tongaat and surrounds to drill boreholes ...
“We have drilled four boreholes already. We will install container tanks where necessary,” said Sooliman.
They are also beginning construction of a limited number of formal houses and are awaiting the government’s decision on informal housing replacement.
The entity’s hotline has been inundated with calls from families still searching for loved ones, and requests from many schools for food parcels and uniforms for children affected by the floods.
“We are now distributing bottled water to schools, clinics, hospitals, mortuaries, old-age homes and orphanages. We are inundated with daily requests for blankets, mattresses, clothing and items for babies,” he added.
“We are also getting calls from many schools asking for help. In one school, 50 pupils are homeless. In some instances pupils are themselves casualties or have not returned because their families have relocated.”
The department of education in the province said about 630 schools had been affected, of which 124 were seriously damaged and 72 remained inaccessible to teachers and pupils.
“Preliminary figures indicate that about R442m would be needed to fix the affected schools and replace the damaged educational supplies and equipment, but that amount could still increase,” said KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Kwazi Mshengu.
Business Unity SA (Busa) appealed to the government to prioritise restoration and reconstruction, and to ensure that the poor and indigent had new homes that can withstand any future storms of this nature.
Busa CEO Cas Coovadia said: “The incalculable damage is the loss of life and meagre possessions poor people have lost. Government must focus on reconnecting water and electricity, ensure all access roads to the Durban port are cleared and the port gets back to optimal operation, and in the medium term, on rebuilding infrastructure, homes, schools and other social services.
“Government must also ensure we learn lessons from this, including ensuring people don’t rebuild structures on river banks, and work on early-warning mechanisms.”
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