Survivors of devastating floods in South Africa described a “leaf upon leaf of relentless rain” that washed away entire houses, bridges and roads, killing about 450 people and leaving thousands homeless.
The storm, which brought the usual year-round rainfall in 48 hours, surprised meteorologists and was blamed by climate change experts. The new disaster comes after three tropical cyclones and two tropical storms hit Southeast Africa in just six weeks in the first months of this year.
The full extent of the devastation caused by floods in South Africa this month remains to be seen, with many victims still unaccounted for and authorities still learning of new damage around the eastern coastal city of Durban. Many tens of thousands of people are left without water and there are growing fears of an outbreak of an infectious disease.
Hundreds of shipping containers swept away by floods near Durban. Photo: EPA
Uzair Ismail, 35, said he was forced to leave his home in downtown Durban with his wife and eight-year-old child when water and mud flooded through doors, windows and plumbing in the middle of the night when a storm hit nearly two weeks ago.
“We were lucky to get out alive… Slowly, slowly we built a house that can be lived with a few things and we had left everything. But others lost much more. At least we are safe, “Ismail told the Guardian.
Some families were almost completely destroyed in the disaster, losing eight or 10 members.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the “huge catastrophe” and attributed the disaster to the climate emergency.
Displaced people from the informal village of Tutukani, near Tongaat, have taken refuge in a community center. Photo: Rajesh Gentilal / AFP / Getty Images
“This tells us that climate change is serious, it’s here,” Ramaphosa said as he visited the flooded metropolitan area of eThekwini, which includes Durban, shortly after the floods. “We can no longer postpone what we need to do and the measures we need to take to tackle climate change.
Others repeated Ramaphosa’s warning.
“This is just the beginning of a series of extreme weather events related to climate change. Africa pollutes the least and suffers the most from climate change,” said Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, CEO of African Risk Capacity. created by the African Union to help governments better plan for disasters and mitigate their impact.
Poor people living in makeshift settlements built on unstable, steep gorges around Durban have been hit hardest by floods. Most have inadequate or no drainage systems, and homes are sometimes fragile barracks that offer little protection against the elements.
Fernaaz Hussein, a 35-year-old coordinator for the Durban-based Islamic Relief charity, said he first thought the rain was just part of the city’s tropical weather, but was worried when he didn’t stop.
“It simply came to our notice then. There was only sheet after sheet, and nothing could be seen beyond it. He just didn’t stop. It was just getting worse and worse. I have never seen anything like this in my life. The rain was so strong and the wind so strong that we were afraid of the windows [would] broke, “Hussein said.
The father of a missing man is looking after members of the community and members of the search and rescue department in KwaNdengezi, west of Durban. Photo: Guillem Sartorio / AFP / Getty Images
She described shipping containers floating on highways and an oil tanker dumped on a famous Durban beach.
“There is nothing you can do to help yourself. You feel completely powerless. “It could happen again tomorrow and there is nothing we can do,” she said.
Experts say the impact of the climate crisis is growing across Africa, with tens of millions suffering from drought in the Sahel and parts of East Africa, while the continent’s southeast coast has been hit by intense storms.
The World Weather Attribution Network (WWA), a pioneer in understanding the causes of extreme weather events, said climate change had made torrential rains off the southeast coast of Africa more severe and likely.
“Once again, we see people with the least responsibility for climate change bearing the brunt of the impact,” said WWA co-founder Frederick Otto of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.
After tropical storm Anna hit the region in January, tropical cyclone Batsirai hit Madagascar in early February, followed in rapid succession by tropical storm Dumako and tropical cyclones Emnati and Gombe.
WWA scientists used meteorological observations and computer simulations to compare precipitation patterns in today’s climate with those in the pre-industrial zone before global warming.
They focused on two of the wettest periods – during the storm Anna in Malawi and Mozambique and during the cyclone Bacirai in Madagascar.
“In both cases, the results show that storm-related rainfall has become more intense with climate change and that episodes of extreme rainfall such as this have become more frequent,” WWA said in a report.
Their findings coincide with a broader study of climate, which shows that global warming can increase the frequency and intensity of precipitation, although determining exactly how climate change affects extreme events is difficult due to the lack of high-quality historical precipitation records. region.
The South African Meteorological Service said that although it was impossible to attribute a single event to the climate crisis, “worldwide, all forms of severe and extreme weather … are becoming more frequent and extreme than in the recent past (as a direct result of global warming and related climate change). In other words, heavy rains like the current incident can be expected … to be repeated in the future and with increasing frequency. “
A bridge on the Griffiths Mxenge Highway collapsed after a flood in Durban. Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed / AP
Many countries in Africa are ill-prepared for such disasters.
Although the continent’s most industrialized country, South Africa is struggling to provide timely and effective assistance to flood victims. One of the reasons for the water shortage among those displaced by the floods in and around Durban is that about half of the local government’s fleet of 100 water tankers was found to be out of order when authorities ordered their deployment last week. Thousands of troops are already deployed to support the relief operation.
Analysts say extreme weather events could contribute to political instability across the continent. In South Africa, repeated failures to offer timely and effective assistance to victims have exacerbated the general lack of faith in the 1994 African National Congress, which has been in power since 1994.
“It simply came to our notice then. I had more support than strangers. I will not even ask the government. “Funds are always lacking and they never reach the right people,” Hussein said.
The police are forced to use tear gas to disperse protesters angry with the lack of aid from the authorities.
Sign up for the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am
“Just because ANC staff regularly don’t care about desperate times like this, so many people are convinced that the party is hopelessly corrupt and that even flood relief funds will be stolen,” commentator Stephen Groats wrote in an editorial on the News website. of Daily Maverick.
Sean Christie of Lédecins Sans Frontières said the NGO is working with local health authorities to provide nurses and counselors to flood victims.
“Regarding psychosocial mental health, we have seen many, many needs,” he told the Guardian.
Add Comment