South Africa army will send more than 10,000 troops over KwaZulu-Natal floods
April 18, 2022, 3:25 pm

South Africa army will send more than 10,000 troops over KwaZulu-Natal floods

KwaZulu-Natal floods: More than 440 people have died, and the search is continuing for 63 people who are still missing (Photo: Getty images)

Yhe BBC reported, the South African military says it is deploying more than 10,000 troops to help with relief and rescue operations following the devastating floods that swept through parts of KwaZulu-Natal province last week.

More than 440 people have died, and the search is continuing for 63 people who are still missing. Some of them were swept away by swollen rivers and mudslides.

The government has declared KwaZulu-Natal a disaster area, and officials described the floods as some of the worst to ever hit the province.

KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said that nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed and more than 8,000 were damaged, most in the coastal city of Durban and its surrounding areas.

KwaZulu-Natal floods: Sniffer dogs are being used to find bodies (Photo: BBC via Reuters)

Local media reported, both the police and army were involved in the search effort, with six more bodies recovered on Sunday (Apr 17).

In a statement, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said its troops would bolster search and rescue operations, as well as assist in transporting aid to victims.

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It added, army plumbers and electricians would also work in areas that have been without water and electricity for a week.

Some communities are completely cut off because roads and bridges have collapsed. Imtiaz Syed, the leader of the Active Citizens' Coalition, said: "We don't have electricity in many, many areas."

Nearly 300 schools and some health facilities have also been damaged. KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said that people needed to stop building homes along river banks.

He said: "Many still remain precariously perched on the edge of the river. In reality, no building should ever have been allowed to be erected at such a location."

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In a visit to flood-affected areas last week, South Africa's President Cyril Rampahosa said the government would "spare no expense" to rebuild the infrastructure and assist all affected families.

According to weather experts, climate change may be contributing to changing patterns and making such extreme events more frequent.

The BBC said, the rainfall has since eased but the amount of rain which fell last Monday was equal to about 75% of South Africa's average annual precipitation.

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It mentioned that the weather system which triggered the floods saw more than 300mm of rainfall being dumped over a 24-hour period on 11 April - far more than previous serious floods.

It should be noted that in 2019, 165mm fell on in April and 108mm was recorded in October 2017.

Source: BBC

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