President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited the Limpopo province where heavy rainfall and flooding has left at least 19 people dead and caused destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure.
The President, together with Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, visited the Vhembe and Mopani Districts to assess the damage caused by the more than 400mm of rain that fell in the area.
“We have just seen the catastrophic damage that has been caused here. We started off in the Vheme District where we saw how a number of houses were flooded and how people have lost their possessions with the huge, huge rains … in this part of our country.
“In the Mopani District, it’s even worse … because there are 36 houses that have just been wiped away from the face of the earth. One five-year-old child has also passed away,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa noted that government officials have been on the ground “doing everything they can to assist the people who have been affected by the floods”.
“Provincial government…has come out in a very strong way. So much as disaster befalls us with climate change, with rains that are now devastating, we’ve been able to find a response. Of course, we need to do a little bit more.
“And of course, our South African Airforce…came out with their helicopters and rescued a number of people from rooftops and from trees. That shows that our response to disaster is getting better both at the institutional level like the Airforce, the South African Defence Force and also at local government level,” he added.
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The President noted that community members have been standing by each other during this time.
“The solidarity and the cooperation that we have seen amongst our people here is quite amazing. We heard how one person was thoughtful enough and threw a rope to people who were stranded. They tied the rope around each other and pulled each other out of what would have been certain death.
“A number of lives that could have been lost here have been saved and we are grateful to our people,” he said.
The President warned that the effects of climate change are now truly beginning to show.
“We are told that we can expect more rain in the coming days and this is the effects of climate change. Climate change is truly with us and those who don’t believe that it is with us, better believe it now, because wiping out of 36 houses when there’s rain has never really been something that we’ve experienced.
“All those households and families are now stranded [and] now have to pick up the pieces of their lives,” he said.
The Limpopo provincial government is expected to brief the media on the heavy rainfall, on Friday. – SAnews.gov.za
