Mookgopong - Government has recommended that a national state of disaster be declared covering seven provinces and 28 municipalities following the recent floods in the country.
The provinces are Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Limpopo.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Sicelo Shiceka, who is the Chairperson of an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) set up last week assess the damage caused by the floods, said the floods have so far caused damage estimated at R356 million.
Reports received from the Northern Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal provinces indicate estimated damages to the tune of R50 million, R6 million and R300 million respectively. The minister is awaiting reports from the outstanding provinces.
Briefing the media on the sidelines of the January Cabinet Lekgotla in Limpopo, Shiceka confirmed that 40 people have so far lost their lives in the floods and more than 6 000 people have been displaced.
"A total of 40 people have lost their lives as a result of flooding and incidents of lightning, thunderstorms and tornadoes between mid-December to date," he said, adding that South Africa's disaster management capacity needs to be commended because more lives would have been lost, and further damage to infrastructure incurred had it not been for the capacity South Africa has in dealing with natural disasters.
He conveyed condolences to the families of those who had died, and wished a speedy recovery to those who had been injured.
In some provinces, the floods have made it impossible for children to go to school, while in others, infrastructure, such as bridges, has been washed away.
Government has prioritised humanitarian relief, the repair and upgrading of public infrastructure, agricultural relief in the form of equipment, livestock and crops and repairs to damaged houses.
Shiceka said these were extraordinary times which called for extraordinary interventions and measures from all of us.
"As government, we will continue to do all in our power to minimise further loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. We will work closely with all sectors of society to ensure a coordinated and coherent approach in assisting those affected," he said.
The IMC has decided that once the areas are declared disasters, the next step will be to "develop mechanisms to monitor the situation of the weather patterns in South Africa, so that in future we will be able to minimize as much as possible loss of life and destruction to property."
Shiceka explained that South Africa was experiencing what is known as the La Nino effect as a result of the warming of the Pacific Ocean, which has in turn led to the current out-of-the-ordinary rain patterns.
He said the phenomenon was expected to remain for the greater part of this year.
"We believe that ... matters pertaining to climate change require priority attention, so that we can continuously improve on our early warning systems. Again, government takes this opportunity to express our solidarity with the international community that has also been affected by the disasters," he said.
Also speaking at the briefing was Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, who said her department will continue to monitor the situation.
"[We] will continue to save lives and provide the necessary assistance to those who need it," she said.
Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said they would continue to evacuate families that are facing possible danger. "We will also ensure security measures are put in place," she said.
