-
Sankara posted in the group Climate Change
More than 250 people have died after days of rain drenched Durban and surrounding areas near South Africa’s east coast, prompting criticism from residents that the government had failed in its promises to prepare for what are increasingly frequent storms.Although the rain in the region stopped on Tuesday, officials were still trying to fully assess the human and infrastructure toll, as rescue crews rummaged through muddy hillsides in search of the missing. The rain washed away bridges, leaving gaping holes in roadways, and swept homes and shacks from their foundations.
Local officials disputed the suggestion that the government was to blame for the devastation, on the grounds that the storms had been more widespread than in previous years and much of the damage resulted from landslides. “It has got nothing to do with the drainage system,” said Mxolisi Kaunda, the mayor of the local municipality, at a recent news conference.
Quotable: “When infrastructure fails, it leads to human catastrophe,” said S’bu Zikode, the president of Abahlali baseMjondolo, a shack dwellers movement concentrated in the province where the rain and flooding occurred.
The New York Times
