By Zelna Jansen
The floods caused by rain have devastated much of KwaZulu-Natal. Hundreds of people have been confirmed to have died and others are still missing.
The areas most affected by the floods include eThekwini, uThukela, uMgungundlovu, King Cetshwayo, Ugu, iLembe and uMzinyathi districts. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the floods a catastrophe of enormous proportions which South Africa has not seen before when he addressed the nation this week on the situation.
He said that many homes were destroyed, damage would amount to billions of rand and about 40 000 people were negatively impacted by the floods. It is true that some of the communities affected have lost their homes, jobs, transportation and even family members.
Family breadwinners were possibly injured or died. Children may have become orphans. These people are now finding shelter in halls, and some are without shelter. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said billions of rand worth of damage has been caused to homes, places of work, roads, bridges, electricity and water supply, and other critical infrastructure.
It is worth noting that KZN is home to the largest ports – Durban and Richards Bay manage almost 60% of South Africa’s cargo tonnage. Most bulk export operations are in Richards Bay which produces over 4% of the global exports of aluminium.
The Durban port is one of the largest and busiest shipping terminals on the continent and therefore vital to South Africa’s economy. This port has been severely damaged.
This means that the whole of South Africa will be affected by the floods in one way or the other. Other tangible assets such as buildings and equipment have also been damaged and will impact the production capacity of businesses. This could be detrimental to businesses if plans are not put in place for KZN to recover from the floods. The province was affected last year by protests and looting.
This hit the economy of KZN hard with billions of rand lost in the civil unrest. All of this will inevitably impact the employment levels in this province and have a ripple effect across South Africa that will last for years. As a result of the floods, many businesses will claim insurance.
There are those who state that natural disasters may in some circumstances increase business productivity by replacing old equipment with new ones. It will also bring modern technology. There are mixed views around this research.
A factor that has been emphasised is that people living on riverbanks and informal settlements lost their homes and that suitable areas will be identified for relocating them. It is surprising that communities were initially allowed to build informal dwellings on riverbanks.
More concerning is that in some of these communities, electricity and water were supplied by municipalities, indicating tacit approval for communities to live in such conditions that would inevitably leave them vulnerable if heavy rains are expected.
Inevitably, it is the family unit that will feel the impact of the floods the hardest. Families will have to deal with the trauma of the floods and their displacement. There is also the fact that victims of the floods will experience feelings of anxiety, have trouble sleeping, and constant worrying, with various symptoms of depression.
A further heart-wrenching fact is that impoverished communities are already vulnerable to elements such as crime and food security. The floods have exacerbated these vulnerabilities.
One especially important matter that was missing from the president’s address to the nation was the issue of the effect of the disaster on women. Particularly, women living in rural areas. A survey conducted in 2019 showed that 41.8% of households are headed by women, which amounts to 7.2 million females. In KZN, 47.9% of households are headed by women. In many instances in rural KZN, husbands work away from home.
This leaves much of the burden of securing the family on the shoulders of women. Dwellings in rural KZN are predominantly mud houses. There is little development and people live far apart from each other.
The heavy rains will have led to homes collapsing. This means that help is not easily available. There is no one close by if a mud house collapses on a family. The supply of food, clean water and medical services will be disrupted and must be restored as soon as possible to alleviate the hardships faced by these women. Then there is crime.
Particularly, where there is displacement, women and children in instances may become desperate and open to exploitation by criminal elements. According to research, human trafficking increases when natural disasters occur and people are displaced.
According to South Africa’s crime statistics, women and children are already vulnerable to crimes of sexual assault as well as common assault. It is therefore important that these factors of women and children and particularly those in rural areas are given specific attention when it comes to immediate humanitarian relief and ensuring that their basic needs are met. Such as food, clean water, and medical care.
This is critical as these women and children are not able to access towns due to damage caused by the floods.
* Jansen is lawyer and CEO of Zelna Jansen Consultancy.