South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster to allow for an intensive response to widespread flooding in seven of the country’s nine provinces.
According to a statement issued by the presidency on Monday, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been the hardest hit by the floods, which were caused by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
According to a statement issued by the presidency on Monday, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been the hardest hit by the floods, which were caused by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
Flooding has also occurred in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and North West. Invoking the National Disaster Act gives the government additional powers, including the ability to bypass current law restrictions on procurement and delivery of goods and services.
South Africa declares disaster after floods in seven provinces pic.twitter.com/SpUzaIs2eL
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) February 15, 2023
The national police and defence forces may be called in to assist with flood response, according to the statement. The floods have had a wide-ranging impact, ranging from flooded homes and vehicles to “loss of basic infrastructure,” according to the statement.
Farmers expect crop and livestock losses to continue as the government’s weather service predicts the weather pattern will last “through the early part of 2023,” according to the report.
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Last week, Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster due to South Africa’s power crisis, which is paralyzing businesses with daily rolling power outages.
The national disaster act was also invoked in March 2020 to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and in April last year to deal with floods in KwaZulu-eastern Natal’s province.
In April 2022, South Africa declared a national state of disaster in response to floods that wreaked havoc in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
