The City of Ekurhuleni has launched its KwaZulu-Natal disaster relief Initiative in an effort to assist families affected by the recent floods in that province.

In a statement, the city said the initiative followed Cabinet's decision to declare a National State of Disaster in response to the floods, which have left families homeless and destitute.

"As an act of solidarity, the city is calling upon its residents and staff members to donate non-perishable food, clothing and blankets to the families in need.

"Donations can be dropped off at customer care centres and the city's head office at the OR Tambo Government Precinct Civic Centre and OR Tambo Government Precinct Administration Building in Germiston," the city said.

Marked donation bins have been placed at these venues for ease of contribution, said the city.

Citizens will be requested to fill out a register form to confirm and note their contributions during the process. The campaign will run for two weeks, after which the donations will be couriered to KZN, where a non-governmental organisation will be selected for distributing the donations.

The city said it is launching the campaign following a similar drive for residents affected by floods in Thembisa, which occured last month. An announcement of the total contributions received will be made at the end of the campaign to ensure transparency and accountability.

"As a caring city, during the COVID-19 lockdown level five period in 2020, the city launched the COVID-19 food bank to aid residents who had lost sources of income due to the pandemic. The city remains committed to leading humanitarian efforts to ease the effects of national disasters on families.

"We therefore appeal to members of the public to answer this clarion call to assist those who have been left destitute by the floods in KZN," said the city.