Por Rogan Ward
DURBAN – South African authorities on Friday released emergency funds to help tens of thousands of people left without shelter, water and electricity after severe flooding swept away homes and roads and killed nearly 400 people on the country’s east coast .
Floods in KwaZulu-Natal province have downed power lines, disrupted water supplies and disrupted operations at one of Africa’s busiest ports. The death toll rose to 395 on Friday from an earlier estimate of 341, state broadcaster SABC said.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Newsroom Africa TV that initial emergency aid of 1 billion rand ($68.3 million) would be available immediately after the province was declared a buffer zone.
Local authorities estimate the damage at several billion rand.
“We are still in an emergency relief phase. It is necessary to be quick on this matter,” Godongwana said. “The second phase will be recovery and repair.”
Local TV channels showed volunteers cleaning up plastic bins, piles of bamboo and driftwood on Durban’s beach. Elsewhere on beaches, a Reuters witness said tourists were taking a break before the rain resumed later on Friday.
According to the authorities, more than 40,000 people have been affected by the disaster.
Scientists believe the southeast coast of Africa will become more prone to violent storms and flooding as human emissions of heat-trapping gases warm the Indian Ocean. They expect the trend to intensify dramatically in the coming decades.
Local climate activists are calling for more investment to help communities better prepare for disasters. Several ministers arrived in Durban on Friday to assess the damage.
In a silent procession in Durban at the start of Easter weekend, a group of Christian believers laid flowers on a cross.
“There are so many reasons to give up hope right now,” said Raymond Perry, director of Christian charity The Dennis Hurley Centre. “The Christian message is: Even in the face of despair, there is hope.”
(1 dollar = 14.6416 rands)