President Cyril Ramaphosa has labelled the KwaZulu-Natal floods a catastrophe of enormous proportions the likes of which the country has not seen before.
Speaking at the Alshaddai Termagniturbanacle International Church in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, during a Good Friday service, Ramaphosa spoke about the painful loss of life caused by the KwaZulu-Natal floods.
So far the death toll in the province stands at 395, with extensive damage to numerous business and residential properties.
Roads and bridges have been washed away, with thousands of people remaining stranded.
Ramaphosa said more than 40,000 people have been affected by the disaster but he expects more to be affected, many displaced and houses destroyed.
“I went to one family that had lost 10 family members all at one go. That was one of the saddest moments that I experienced, even as president. To look at family members who have lost 10 of their family members in one event, ranging from adults, right to young children.
“That is a tragic event and the pain and the suffering that the people of KZN who are affected would feel, will last for years because some of them just saw their family members being taken away by the river, by the water, as they watched. Unable to rescue them, reaching out with their hand to hold them, but the power of the water just took them away. That has been a very, very sad moment for our people,” said Ramaphosa.
He said there was a lot that had to be done in the province. He also mentioned the rains that had extended to the Eastern Cape where one person has already died.
Ramaphosa said the floods and droughts in other parts of the country were an indication of the reality of climate change that the country needed to be prepared for.
Reflecting on the woes faced by KwaZulu-Natal, he cited the 2021 July looting and violent riots which had cost the province and the country billions of rand.
He told the congregants the nation needed to also fight gender-based violence, saying the scourge had become more visible two years ago when the country had gone into the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I did say that gender-based violence is the second pandemic that we are facing as a nation. Gender-based violence continues to spread throughout our country. The women of our country are getting raped by men.
“They rape even young children, they even kill them and even women of our country have become continuous victims of the action of men. And this has to come to an end, we must end gender-based violence in our nation,” said Ramaphosa.
He also told the congregants about the challenge of unemployment and crime in the country.
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Flood disaster in KZN a 'catastrophe of enormous proportions': Ramaphosa says in Good Friday church address
Image: Sandile Ndlovu
President Cyril Ramaphosa has labelled the KwaZulu-Natal floods a catastrophe of enormous proportions the likes of which the country has not seen before.
Speaking at the Alshaddai Termagniturbanacle International Church in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, during a Good Friday service, Ramaphosa spoke about the painful loss of life caused by the KwaZulu-Natal floods.
So far the death toll in the province stands at 395, with extensive damage to numerous business and residential properties.
Roads and bridges have been washed away, with thousands of people remaining stranded.
Ramaphosa said more than 40,000 people have been affected by the disaster but he expects more to be affected, many displaced and houses destroyed.
“I went to one family that had lost 10 family members all at one go. That was one of the saddest moments that I experienced, even as president. To look at family members who have lost 10 of their family members in one event, ranging from adults, right to young children.
“That is a tragic event and the pain and the suffering that the people of KZN who are affected would feel, will last for years because some of them just saw their family members being taken away by the river, by the water, as they watched. Unable to rescue them, reaching out with their hand to hold them, but the power of the water just took them away. That has been a very, very sad moment for our people,” said Ramaphosa.
He said there was a lot that had to be done in the province. He also mentioned the rains that had extended to the Eastern Cape where one person has already died.
Ramaphosa said the floods and droughts in other parts of the country were an indication of the reality of climate change that the country needed to be prepared for.
Reflecting on the woes faced by KwaZulu-Natal, he cited the 2021 July looting and violent riots which had cost the province and the country billions of rand.
He told the congregants the nation needed to also fight gender-based violence, saying the scourge had become more visible two years ago when the country had gone into the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I did say that gender-based violence is the second pandemic that we are facing as a nation. Gender-based violence continues to spread throughout our country. The women of our country are getting raped by men.
“They rape even young children, they even kill them and even women of our country have become continuous victims of the action of men. And this has to come to an end, we must end gender-based violence in our nation,” said Ramaphosa.
He also told the congregants about the challenge of unemployment and crime in the country.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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