President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday visited flood-stricken parts of KwaZulu-Natal in the Indian Ocean port city of Durban to offer his government’s support to affected communities, and assess the right response to the state of disaster which has left dozens of South Africans dead.
Describing the aftermath of the flooding as a “critical situation,” the president said a number of areas which have been severely impacted by persistent and heavy downpours in recent days have claimed lives, damaged infrastructure and various assets.
Ramaphosa’s programme started at Pinetown Civic Centre for a briefing by Premier Sihle Zikalala and officials on the situation in the province.
Following the briefing, the president traveled to the hard-hit areas of Durban to meet affected families and inspect damage to infrastructure.
Ramaphosa said his thoughts were with the families who had lost loved ones, people who had been injured, and individuals, businesses and organisations who had lost all property.
“This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government in partnership with communities,” he said.
He added: “This situation calls on us to come together as a nation and offer assistance to those who desperately need our care and support.”
Zikalala also condemned “in the strongest terms” a looting incident that was reported in the south of Durban, which alleged that some communities were looting containers that were washed away by floods.
NM/as/APA