South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Suffers More Floods, Deaths

On May 20, 2022, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) placed the KwaZulu-Natal province on red alert for heavy rains and flooding. The heaviest rain fell on May 21, 2022 and several people lost their lives. The rains caused more damage to a fragile infrastructure under repair from the April 2022 floods - described as the worst that the province had seen. The April floods killed at least 430 people, displaced thousands and caused damage estimated at U.S.$685 million. This led the national government to declare the KwaZulu-Natal province, a national state of disaster.

It left thousands homeless as they battle the mental scars that make finding work an ongoing struggle, writes Kim Harrisberg for Thomson Reuters.

A survey by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has revealed that at least 826 companies were affected by the deluge with 31,220 jobs affected as a result. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said measures are being implemented to assist spaza shops in townships and implementing tourism sector interventions, and Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) relief for infrastructure.

At the time of the April 2022 floods, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said. "These floods are the worst floods that we have ever seen in living memory. The impact of these floods are well beyond the province."