South Africa Flooding

Since April 25, our team has been connecting with partners on the ground, assessing affected communities, coordinating clean-ups, directing people to distribution centers and educating community members about the health hazards of the sea post flood. 

After reviewing the assessment of South Africa’s flood,  our team decided a traditional program will not be launched, however, we do recognize several ways we can continue to provide support.  Cana, our DART volunteer from South Africa, will continue to review partnerships on the ground so we can identify small ways we can support and impact the community. Updates to be shared in the coming week.

On day two of our South Africa flood assessment, Cana, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal community, traveled with a local nonprofit to visit the informal settlement of Inanda, just outside of Durban. The visit indicated that though the school experienced flooding, the only significant damage was to books and reading materials, which the NGO hopes to replace. With only several homes intact, the community has shown a strong display of strength and resilience in looking ahead. Presently, there are several informal community-led responses to clear roads, infrastructure, and surrounding impacted areas.

DART has begun a ground assessment in South Africa in response to the flooding. We are utilizing information provided by trusted churches and NGOs to monitor the types of assistance needed within the communities. We are also working alongside a local from the KwaZulu-Natal community who will be providing more information on the ground about the flood’s impacts and possible gaps we can fill. 

The assessment is focused in Umhlanga, Umdloti, Durban, and its surrounding areas along with visiting affected schools to see the level of impact.

From April 11th to the 13th, severe flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall impacted many South African communities within the Provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. Over 40,000 people were displaced, roads and transport routes were wiped out, around 8,000 homes were damaged, 600 schools were affected, and 443 deaths occurred.

Our Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) is in transit to assess the flooding in Kwazulu Natal, the second biggest province by GDP in South Africa which was severely impacted by this flood.

A cut off low-pressure system has caused heavy rain and flooding in southern Africa, particularly affecting the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) region of South Africa. 50 deaths have been reported thus far as well as reports of individuals being cut off due to completely damaged infrastructure. The president has declared a state of emergency, and the team is currently exploring if there are potential ways to support initial response efforts.