The authorities in South Africa have declared a national disaster after floods caused by heavy rains in recent days resulted in the death of 7 people and several missing. The Presidency stated in a press release that "the government has declared a national disaster to enable a strong and coordinated response to the consequences of the floods." It confirmed that "farmers have suffered losses in crops and livestock."
A final toll of victims on a national level has not yet been issued, but bad weather threatens 7 of the country's nine provinces, particularly those located on the eastern coast along the Indian Ocean. At least 5 people, including an infant, have died in KwaZulu-Natal (southeast), according to the spokesperson for the disaster management center in the coastal province, Nonala Ndlovu. She added that several people are still missing in the province.
Two other people have died in the neighboring Mpumalanga province (northeast), according to local authorities. In Limpopo, a province in the northern part of the country bordering Zimbabwe, a hospital, roads, and bridges have been affected by the floods, and several vehicles have been swept away by the torrents.
The National Weather Center warned that it still expects "continued and heavy rainfall," which threatens further flooding as "the soil is saturated and waterways have reached peak levels." Last year, South Africa experienced the worst floods in its history, with the heaviest losses occurring in Durban, the country's third-largest city and one of the main ports on the continent.
