The Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi says more needs to be done to help resettle communities, located in areas negatively affected by climate change.
Kubayi visited Inanda, north of Durban, after a heavy storm hit parts of KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.
Some homes were completely destroyed by the heavy winds, which residents have described as tornado or cyclone-like storm.
Kubayi says teams are continuing to assess the damage.
“When people talk about responses to climate change and financing, they don’t talk about resettlement of communities and houses that are caused by climate change. We continue that fight as the national Department of Human Settlements. When I was at the UN raising this issue, I said that as global communities, we need to start pushing for financing of resettlements of communities, caused by disaster (sic) or what would have been the effects of climate change in terms of our communities.”
The Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, together with KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and eThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda today lead a government visit to the community of Inanda to assess damages from yesterday’s storm .. pic.twitter.com/hqO25KQavm
— eThekwini Municipality (@eThekwiniM) June 28, 2023
Inanda Storm | Minister of Human Settlements addresses community of Amaoti:
While the official death toll from yesterday’s storm in Durban stands at 1, Netcare 911 Spokesperson Shaun Herbst says search and rescue teams have retrieved three bodies from the Mkhumbane River at Cato Crest outside the CBD.
One of the deceased is a child.
Herbst says they have been informed of seven people who went missing, which includes the three bodies that have been found.
Earlier KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services Spokesperson, Robert McKenzie, said one person died and six others have been injured when their informal dwellings in this area collapsed in torrential rain.
Hebrst says search and rescue teams are scouring the banks of the Mkhumbane and Umbilo Rivers as far Pinetown.
“So far, seven people have been reported missing, and out of those, we have found one child. We continue searching and it is a multi-disciplinary operation. As you can see there is Netcare, SAPS search and rescue K9, Durban Metro Police search and rescue and eThekwini fire.”
DISCUSSION | Impact of the Indanda storm:
