FLOOD WRAP | Here's how much it could cost to rebuild KZN after deadly floods

April 24 2022 - 17:04

Almost R1-trillion — That's what it will cost SA to rebuild KZN

It will cost the taxpayer almost R1-trillion to restore the damaged infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal after the devastating floods this month.

KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala, who described the recent floods as “the greatest disaster” to befall SA, said the worst damage has been to Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) infrastructure, which amounts to over R940bn.

April 24 2022 - 11:00

WATCH | Donations pour in at Gift of the Givers' 5L bottled water drive

April 24 2022 - 10:30

JASON MUSYOKA | Natural disasters are evidence that God exists: Answering Eusebius McKaiser’s agnosticism

At the Easter weekend, Eusebius McKaiser wrote a lengthy article for the Sunday Times, arguing that God does not exist. This theme was an interesting choice for Easter which unfortunately coincided with devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal that caused tragic loss of life and destruction of property.

This natural catastrophe formed the basis of McKaiser’s agnosticism, arguing that the existence of God cannot be known for sure. There is a lot to say about the structure of his arguments, but I do not intend to play the man as it were, my intention is to refute his arguments.

April 24 2022 - 10:00

Umdloti residents blame new development for flood destruction

“We are sending a voice note from 58 Bellamont Road. We are a whole family with kids and a granny. Basically our whole house is going to be taken soon so we are asking if anyone can come help evacuate us.”

This was the harrowing cry for help from Donald Perry in Umdloti, north of Durban, at 11pm on April 10 as his family's three properties in Bellamont Road were hit by “millions of litres of slurry gushing at a velocity that was unstoppable”.

Many residents of the popular seaside town are blaming a new development, Salta Sibaya, which registered R1bn in sales at its launch, for the destruction that wiped out homes during the KwaZulu-Natal floods this month.

April 24 2022 - 09:40

VISHWAS SATGAR | The ANC needs a wake-up call on the urgency of the climate crisis

Human life on planet Earth has faced three natural threats to its existence: catastrophic volcanic eruptions, a huge extraterrestrial object like an asteroid crashing, and the end of the sun.

None of these pose any immediate danger. This means it is up to us to make the best of our world while acting as stewards of this fragile web of life.

Yet, with the levels of investment in fossil fuels and the increase in greenhouse gases, the human species faces the prospect of self-extinction this century.

At a painful historic moment, without decisive action as called for by the UN in this decade, irreversible geophysical changes, together with extreme heat, will make Earth unlivable.

April 24 2022 - 09:20

SA must invest in technology to prevent weather catastrophes

Artificial intelligence (AI) will help build a digital twin SA to help prevent disasters like the recent floods.

Experts say SA should be investing in technology such as digital twins which will improve service delivery across municipalities and aid resilience and disaster recovery.

A digital twin is a digital replica of physical assets, such as buildings or water pipe networks. By sharing data between the virtual and real-world environment, municipalities, city planners and private companies can pre-empt issues through proactive maintenance.

April 24 2022 - 09:00

SUE DE GROOT | Beeb boob gives South Africans an existential jolt

There is nothing funny about the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, which is why a video clip that has gone viral on social media has been met by most with stupefaction rather than hilarity.

This week, while a BBC World News presenter reported gravely on the South African disaster, images were shown on the screen behind her of the devastation in KwaZulu-Natal. The screen then switched to a Google Earth image of Africa, zooming in to highlight in colour the part of the continent where the tragedy is taking place. 

The BBC team member manipulating the background graphics has not been named, but he or she clearly thinks that KwaZulu-Natal is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

April 24 2022 - 08:40

Water vs asphalt: a battle with deadly consequences

Two enemies, asphalt and heavy rain, met last week and the result was catastrophic. Bridges crumbled and roads swallowed vehicles as they caved in when downpours battered the province.

But how does water take down entire hills, leaving ravines where roads once were? And what can be done to prevent it?

University of KwaZulu-Natal civil engineering department's Prof Mohamed Mostafa said that during planning, engineers try to avoid flood paths because water is the enemy of asphalt.

April 24 2022 - 08:20

BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI | Will the pious pledges leave less trace than foam in the flood water?

One hopes that President Cyril Ramaphosa, while offering words of comfort to those affected by the deadly floods in KwaZulu-Natal during the joint sitting of parliament on Tuesday, will warn the hyenas in his party that any attempt to profit from the tragedy will not be tolerated.

I doubt that they'll listen,  though. They're already licking their chops. The public have every reason to be wary of how the huge sums will ultimately be spent. Will it be another bonfire for the comrades?

Sadly, we've learnt to take what the president says with a pinch of salt. He's made promises before that he hasn’t been able to fulfil.

One also has to ask if it's even necessary to squander scarce resources on this special sitting; there’s nothing new he will tell us about this catastrophe that we don't already know. Talking about problems instead of solving them seems to be our special trait.

April 24 2022 - 08:00

Container freight backlog at Durban sees cargo rerouted to other ports

Beads of sweat run down the face of metro police search and rescue inspector Renardo George and fall on to a sodden patch of earth where the body of six-year-old Sthandiwe Magwaza lies buried.

A stench filters through the valley in Inanda, north of Durban, as flies swarm over the body of her nine-year-old sister, Sthandazile, wrapped in a blanket and placed under a wreath of banana leaves after being recovered just moments before on Thursday afternoon.

For George, 33, it is a smell he is all too familiar with.

April 24 2022 - 07:40

Container freight backlog at Durban sees cargo rerouted to other ports

With no immediate end in sight to the backlogs at the Durban port in the wake of devastating floods, cargo is being shifted to ports in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

Cargo is being shifted to ports in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape as Durban port scrambles to clear the substantial backlog in the wake of KwaZulu-Natal’s devastating floods. 

Grindrod CEO Andrew Waller said on Friday that Transnet was making progress in clearing the main Bayhead Road into the harbour, but a lot of work remains to be done.

There is a backlog in imports and exports, and goods that need to be moved urgently are being rerouted to Ngqura near Gqeberha, and in some cases Cape Town.  

April 24 2022 - 07:20

Mampara of the Week: Sihle Zikalala

April 24 2022 - 07:00

MAKHUDU SEFARA | Using the nation’s pain for political gain is repulsive

The aftermath of the devastation caused by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal has unleashed something not as troubling as poverty porn, but quite repulsive and close: the naked use of the nation’s anguish for political gain.

This terrible spectacle is under way in the province, the focus of fatal mudslides after the worst flooding in almost three decades left more than 400 people dead and cemeteries exposing long-buried bones.

KwaZulu-Natal seems somewhat godforsaken. It was home to riots just under a year ago that crippled economic activity, leading to more than 350 deaths. Before that, the Covid pandemic pummelled it, as it did every part of the country.

April 24 2022 - 06:40

Here's how much it could cost to rebuild KZN after deadly floods

Preliminary estimates show the rebuilding and repair of infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal destroyed  by the deadliest natural disaster to hit SA could run up to billions more than initially anticipated.

Premier Sihle Zikalala did not confirm the figures when he spoke to the Sunday Times yesterday, but said the recovery could cost billions.

“We have conducted general assessments in all areas — roads, schools, bridges, water and electricity infrastructure, health facilities,” he told the Sunday Times afterwards. “It’s  huge damage which will cost billions and it will need technical experts to quantify properly — departments will be giving us figures later today [Saturday].” 

A presentation Zikalala made to his cabinet yesterday shows that the department of human settlements alone will need about R2bn to rehouse  those who lost homes.  A total of 8,329 houses were partially damaged and 3,937 were completely destroyed, he said.

April 24 2022 - 06:20

Devastated school buries two pupils, search still on for a missing learner

Two pupils of Mariannpark Primary School in Pinetown who died in last week’s floods were buried on Thursday but the pain and anguish for teachers and pupils is not yet over as the search continues for another pupil.

Okuhle Maphumulo, a grade 2 pupil, is among five pupils in the province who have not yet been accounted for.

The pupils who were buried on Thursday were Nkosenhle Ngcobo, a grade R pupil, and Luyanda Mjoka, a grade 2 pupil.

Komala Reddy, head of department for the foundation phase, said staff were devastated by the loss of the children.

 “Their deaths have reminded us of how fragile life is. We pray for the souls of our two precious learners.”

April 24 2022 - 06:00

KwaZulu-Natal floods offer warning on impact of climate change on health

Flood repairs at KwaZulu-Natal health facilities will cost tens of millions of rand and new research into the impact of climate change says worse is likely to come.

SA’s healthcare system has been “very slow” in recognising the impact of climate change, according to research published shortly before the floods.

Academics at Unisa, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University of Le Havre in France said poorer communities and people with underlying medical conditions were most at risk to the impact of climate change.

After interviewing 20 SA experts in the field of climate change and health, they concluded that the impact of climate change will be so great that a cabinet-level government department should be set up to deal with it.

April 23 2022 - 19:30

eThekwini official shot dead at water tanker filling point

An on-duty eThekwini municipality official was shot dead at a water tanker filling point in Ottawa on Saturday. 

eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said at this stage the motive for the killing is unknown.

“We are in the grip of a disaster and this murder is something we do not need. We condemn it and we hope the police will move with speed and arrest those responsible," he said. 

“This employee was entrusted with a critical responsibility of controlling our water tankers. We urge anyone who may have information with regard to this unfortunate incident to work with the police.”

April 23 2022 - 19:00

KwaZulu-Natal authorities race to restore water and power

Authorities in KwaZulu-Natal are scrambling to restore water and power supplies as the province rolls up its sleeves and rebuilds after the devastating floods.

As residents prepared to bury relatives lost in the floods, businesses in the province’s economic hub, Durban, were also counting the costs of damages.

On Friday, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda told the business community that his municipality is one of the hardest-hit districts, with all 111 wards affected.

April 23 2022 - 11:25

‘Old habits die hard’ — Holomisa rubbishes Ramaphosa’s pledge that flood relief funds will not be looted

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa is not convinced by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge that no funds meant for relief and the rebuilding of KwaZulu-Natal will end up in corrupt hands.

Ramaphosa promised “corruption hyenas” they will not get a cent of the more than R1bn released to help those affected by devastating floods that ravaged the province earlier this month.

Reacting to Ramaphosa’s comments, Holomisa suggested corruption runs deep.

April 23 2022 - 9:32

Now KZN faces a river of tears over funeral muddle, say undertaker

Funeral directors in KwaZulu-Natal say bureaucracy and confusion are delaying the funerals of hundreds of flood victims.

Their criticism followed an eThekwini municipality announcement it would give R20,000 to each family that had lost a relative.

The KwaZulu-Natal Funeral Association Forum said it had not been consulted by the government about the amount that had been allocated or how the money would be distributed.

April 22 2022 - 21:10

No one predicted we'd have so much rain in such a short space of time, says Ramaphosa on KZN floods

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said there was no indication that two days of rain could lead to the catastrophe that resulted in the deaths of more than 400 people in KwaZulu-Natal.

“I think as the rains were coming down and as we could read the weather indicators, we didn’t even begin to imagine that we would have up to 300mm of rain in two days.

“In SA we usually get about 464mm on average in the whole country and KZN gets slightly more but no one ever really predicted that it would have been as much as 300mm in such a short space of time,” he said.

April 22 2022 - 20:45

Loss to eThekwini GDP due to floods since April 14 is R737m

Preliminary estimates indicate the loss to the eThekwini GDP since April 14 as a result of damage caused by flooding is R737m.

The City of eThekwini said the economic impact of the floods has been severe as many industries have had to cease operations. 

The municipality said the economic loss was occasioned by the fact that the city has 1,152 businesses located within eThekwini’s floodplain and most of them were affected by the flooding.

April 22 2022 - 10:30

What you said: Ramaphosa is wrong, the corrupt will get their hands on KZN relief money

TimesLIVE readers have weighed in on president Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge that no money meant for relief and rebuild efforts in KwaZulu-Natal will end up in the hands of the corrupt. 

KwaZulu-Natal is picking up the pieces after devastating floods and landslides left more than 400 people dead, dozens missing and thousands displaced. It also caused damage to houses and infrastructure in the province.

Speaking on Monday, Ramaphosa said National Treasury had identified R1bn in contingency reserve funds that can immediately be released to departments to assist families affected by the floods.

April 22 2022 - 06:10

First came the KZN floods, now comes the deluge of insurance claims

The worst flooding in 35 years, a severe shortage of loss adjusters and the ongoing inaccessibility of many damaged or destroyed properties has created the perfect storm for insurance claim delays.

Durban-based property management company Independent Estate Agents of Africa sent a letter to the trustees and body corporate members of its portfolio of properties this week, warning them of significant delays in claims handling.

April 22 2022 - 06:00

Hell or high water: Vaal Dam overflow floods businesses downriver

Homes and camping resorts in some areas around the Vaal Dam are experiencing floods of their own, with the water levels rising to 115% on Wednesday and the opening up of eight sluice gates. 

Henning Vosloo, who lives 22km outside Parys downriver, said his cabin was under water.

“It started rising over the weekend and on Monday we evacuated our cabin. Then the water was still just on the bottom room but yesterday [Wednesday] morning, it went over the bottom rooms and started getting to the top side of the cabin,” he said.

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