Floods experienced in KwaZulu-Natal classified as a Provincial Disaster

The Head of the National Disaster Management Centre has on the 13 April 2022, in terms of Section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) classified floods experienced in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as a provincial disaster.

The classification of the floods as a provincial disaster follows the recommendation and assessments done, by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, on the magnitude and severity of the impact of the severe weather events occurring in KZN that resulted in the loss of life and damage to property, infrastructure and the environment as a result of heavy rain, flooding, strong winds and landslides.

The Disaster Management Act, Section 40 read with section 23(8), designates the primary responsibility to coordinate and manage this disaster, in terms of existing legislation and contingency arrangements to the provincial executive.

Accordingly, all state organs are urged to further strengthen support to existing structures to implement contingency arrangements and ensure that measures are put in place to enable the KZN Province to effectively deal with the effects of this disaster.

Source: Government of South Africa