The Executive Council of the Eastern Cape has declared flood-hit areas in the province as disaster areas. A number of storms moved over the province since last month claiming at least 17 lives.
The Premier’s spokesperson, Khuselwa Rantjie says the declaration of the disaster is being submitted to the National Disaster Management Centre for classification and verification.
“The declaration of a disaster will ensure a consolidated and integrated government effort to support communities to rebuild their lives and protect livelihoods. Cabinet noted that natural incidents that result in the disaster have been occurring much more frequently in the province which calls for proactive and coordinated efforts to improve early warning systems and enable swift response when incidents occur. Cabinet also called on communities to refrain from building houses or shelters in low-lying areas which are prone to flooding.”
Plan to restore Electricity, Water
Meanwhile, the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) in the Eastern Cape says it’s working around the clock to restore water and electricity supply to areas affected by the recent flash floods.
A Disaster Operations Centre is also up and running to deal with the aftermath. Seven people have died in the floods in the metro.
BCM Spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya says people should remain vigilant as it’s still a rainy season.
“The disaster management processes are underway. We are finalising the application towards the classification and declaration of this disaster. Our teams are out cleaning all the affected areas including the roads. We are still housing people in some of our community halls whose structures were destroyed. We are in a rainy season and therefore plea to each person not to build on low-lying or near bridges.”
