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South African Floods Lay Bare Deadly Reality of Climate Change

Repairing or rebuilding damaged infrastructure will be a priority in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province's recovery after the deadliest storm to strike the country in living memory killed over 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless. For a continent already wracked by the effects of climate change, the floods have been another chilling reminder of the destructive power of the kind of storms that will become more common in the future.

As if the damage is not enough, South Africa's flood-ravaged east was hit by more rain on April 16, 2022 following the floodwaters that engulfed parts of the southeastern coastal city of Durban, ripping apart roads, destroying hospitals and sweeping away homes and those trapped inside. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster to deal with the flooding, which has also affected parts of the Eastern Cape.

The World Health Organization has warned that climate change is now the single biggest health threat facing humanity, but scientists have agreed that the worst impacts can be avoided with coordinated and rapid climate action. Proposed goals include an end date to the use of coal, making new cars zero-emissions within 20 years and ending deforestation by the end of the 2020s.

InFocus

Nokulunga Majola / GroundUp (CC BY-ND 4.0)

Mandla Buthelezi was home with his girlfriend and three children when they began hearing the roof and wall of their home collapse (April 2022).

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