Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, has urged South Africans to also consider people with disabilities who have been affected by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal.
At least 443 people have died in the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and more than 60 are still missing.
Bogopane-Zulu is visiting facilities in the province to assess the damage.
“During her visit, it was reported that the JEP Home for the Blind in Durban was flooded and submerged underwater. The Deputy Minister explained how the water may have caused disorientation to the blind residents who were struggling to get out of the flooded house. She further expressed gratitude to the neighbours who heard their cries and assisted the caregivers to get all 24 blind people out of the house,” says Department spokesperson Lumka Oliphant.
Pictures of the damage caused by the floods :
Oliphant says they hope that the flood relief will also cater for the special needs and challenges of disabled people.
“In communal living spaces for deaf people, the Deputy Minister explained that deaf people would not have even heard anything even the screams but only felt the water as it came up to their beds. There are now shelters opened by parents of disabled children especially those with Alcohol Fetal Syndrome (FAS) and those with cerebral palsy where caregivers risked their lives to rescue the children as the wheelchairs and their medication was washed away. Elderly persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia were at a disadvantage as their impairments in memory and reasoning limited their ability to act as their facilities were being flooded.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the National State of Disaster following the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape:
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