The scale of the recent KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) floods and their consequences led to the announcement of a National – rather than municipal or provincial – State of
Disaster in terms of Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act (No. 57 of 2002). For those municipalities affected, the declaration gives them access to not only local resources and contingencies, but to assistance from provincial and national departments.
Local municipalities are supposed to have a Disaster Management Fund, but where this is insufficient – as is now clearly the case due to the scale and extent – they can draw resources from national and even international sources. This gives access to services that are often quite specialised, such as search-and-rescue teams.
In this instance, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed – and was expected to bring in expertise to assist with the immediate disaster response and recovery. There should even be capacity in the SANDF to build temporary bridges where structures have been washed away to ensure communities have physical access to services and markets. Opening up international channels of support could also contribute food assistance where the disaster has placed local food security at risk.
Rapid response
A central concern in all disaster response plans is to return the affected areas and people to some form of normality as quickly as possible. There are particular issues that need rapid and effective responses, such as the provision of water and sanitation services. This is to avoid the potential knock-on effects of secondary impacts – like waterborne diseases – which prolong the recovery period. This makes close collaboration a vital element of success in any municipality’s disaster response.
