Municipalities and government organisations are hard at work picking up the pieces of destroyed infrastructure left in the wake of the mega-storm that swept through parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg earlier this week.

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government said it is working together with the eThekwini Metro and other affected municipalities to try and alleviate the impact of the violent storms while provincial and local government disaster management teams in Gauteng have been working around the clock to provide temporary relief for those affected by the storm.

Schools and hospitals hardest hit

Damage assessments are still ongoing in both provinces, however, approximately 840 houses were damaged by the storm and an estimated 1 600 people have been affected in Gauteng. In Kwazulu-Natal at least 19 buildings and perimeter walls collapsed and 42 schools were gravely affected. The province also reported as many as 500 power outages.

The province was hit with a wave of flash flooding which caused enormous damage to healthcare institutions largely in the eThekwini District. Seven hospitals were flooded while wards in five hospitals had their roofs blown off.

Taking stock of the damages

The Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial government said it cannot confirm a formal declaration of disaster, as processes are underway to take stock of the damages.

“Once the assessments have been concluded, a comprehensive report will be assessed by the provincial executive in terms of its magnitude, impact and cost implications.

“Thereafter, a determination will be made whether to declare provincial or municipal disaster areas, or appeal to the national government to declare a national disaster area in terms of the applicable legislation,” the provincial government said in a statement.

Disaster areas

Meanwhile Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced that he would be declaring parts of the province disaster areas following a briefing on the extent of the damage by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

“Our sympathies go out to all the victims of the storm and I wish to express our heartfelt condolences, as the provincial government, to the grieving families. We wish all those injured a speedy recovery,” said Premier Makhura.