The KwaZulu-Natal floods in April took the lives of 443 people and left countless others displaced. Interviews conducted by SECTION27 in the aftermath revealed an inadequate disaster response system that resulted in many flood victims having to endure compromised access to education, healthcare and adequate shelter.

As the waters receded in the wake of the KwaZulu-Natal floods in April 2022, it exposed a lack of coordinated responses by local authorities which left the communities of eThekwini in a more vulnerable state than before the deluge.

The existing vulnerabilities are borne out by the finding that eThekwini has more informal settlements than any municipality in South Africa. Coupled with the observation that at least 164 of the 550 informal settlements are built on floodplains, it was a disaster by design for many. A total of 443 people lost their lives in the floods and countless others have been displaced.

SECTION27 interviewed 18 families, primarily from Ugu, Umlazi and Groutville, whose lives were uprooted by the floods, to assess the impact the floods had on access to basic education and healthcare, and to gain insight into the government's response before, during and after the disaster.

While we would not suggest that the...