United Nations assists victims of the KwaZulu-Natal floods

“Shattered, yaah hey,” sighs the taxi driver who picks me up from the Durban airport, as he expresses the emotional turmoil residents of KwaZulu-Natal suffered following the devastating floods that besieged the province in early April this year.

Bheka, 52, says he has never experienced flooding of this nature before. Born and raised in the province in Kwamashu suburb, where he has lived and worked all his life, he described the fear and anxiety he felt during the three-day non-stop rainfall.

“My wife and I were so frightened, we heard loud noises. We could literally see homes being destroyed from our window,” says Bheka.

“We weren’t even sure what to do, should we stay or should we leave and if we leave, where must we go because the rain wouldn’t stop and the roads were flooded. Sometimes we saw fallen trees laying on the street. It was absolutely frightening.”

As he describes his experience, it is evident from his facial expressions that in addition to the physical destruction the province suffered, there is emotional trauma that needs to be dealt with too.

I’m part of the technical team from the United Nations in South Africa that is in the province to assess the damage to infrastructure and the needs of the local communities in the aftermath of the floods. Discussions were underway before the visit to identify funds to be used for humanitarian assistance in the province.

On the last day of our visit, through the Media in Education and Training organization, I travel to Dr. Macken Mistry Primary School in Sea Cow Lake. The images before my eyes left me speechless. 

Apart from a brick structure that once resembled classrooms and offices, it is difficult to feel anything other than shock, bewilderment and sadness following a walk through the school.

Textbooks, extra workbooks and stationery for the entire school for the remainder of the year have been destroyed, including computers and printing machines. Sensory-motor materials for the students in the Early Childhood Development phase had been destroyed beyond repair.

Desks are beginning to rot after swelling from water damage. Ironically, the school had just reopened this year following closure from the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. The principal, the teachers and their assistants have joined the cleaning staff to clean up the school and remove all the debris as a strong stench permeates the air.“We knew we were to expect heavy rains,” says the school principal, Pompey Sukool,” adding, “On that Friday, we sent the kids home early. We told them to leave their books at school thinking it would be safer as many live in the surrounding informal settlements.

“I instructed the teachers to put the students’ bags and books on their desks so that nothing would be on the floor in case water seeped in.”

“I never anticipated that the flood of water would be so high that the desks would be floating in the classrooms or that the doors of the classrooms would swell to such an extent that we had to break the doors down in order to get into the classrooms.” says Mr. Sukool.

“Our security guard almost lost his life. We found him sitting on the roof the next morning,” he adds as he introduces me to the security guard, Michael, who lives at the school. Michael sustained injuries to his knees and his back trying to stay safe. 

According to Michael, “The water got onto me and I had to protect myself by climbing onto the roof to keep myself safe. I stayed there from 10 at night until 6 the next morning.

UN South Africa contributed relief funds

Over the coming months, the UN will work directly with Government departments to implement various activities in affected communities. It will also participate in the Provincial Disaster Risk Coordination  structures to integrate UN programmes into existing sector plans and to ensure inclusion of its reporting into current structures.

The UN plans to complete all its support within three months and submit a final report to the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal detailing its work. “The floods, compounded by the ongoing socio-economic challenges facing the people of South Africa, is both an opportunity and ultimatum for us all. It is a clear sign that the impact of climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Mr. Odusola.

Premier Sihle Zikalala welcomed the UN support adding the province is “grateful for the commitment by the UN outlined by the Resident Coordinator and thank you for the network that has been established and the resources that you have mobilised to assist us.

This has been a very painful experience and the worst catastrophe we have seen, so the support you have brought is welcomed.”

The UN will also work with the eThekwini Municipality to build on existing work with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs through the District Development Model and KwaZulu-Natal’s own Operation Sukuma Sakhe, which aims to accelerate service delivery, assess progress on repairs to infrastructure that was damaged by recent storms and assist in providing humanitarian support to affected communities.

I was very afraid because there was lots of water, and I was scared that anything could happen to me because the water was already reaching past my knees and the rain wouldn’t stop.

I got hurt on my knees and back but I’m glad to be ok because I was very, very scared.” Ms. Meghu, a grade one teacher at the school said that water boats were unable to reach the school to rescue Michael. There were tears from many of the teachers as we walk around the school. The school runs a nutrition programme for the students and the recently revamped kitchen with all food products have been destroyed together with ablution facilities and parts of the school hall.

I sit with a group of teachers who describe the image that faced them following the floods.“The school was actually submerged in water,” says a teacher for the intermediate and senior students. “It took us over a week to get rid of the sludge.

We were just slipping and sliding initially and we really had to clear up the sludge.”

Another teacher added: “We retrieved absolutely nothing, there is nothing that we can use again, everything is gone.” The teachers have tried to use online schooling but the digital divide has proved challenging too.

They explain that these floods could not have come at a worse time, with some saying “this is the worst devastation of them all,” after the pandemic and the looting in the province over the past two years.

The teachers express genuine concern over the welfare of their learners, adding that they are worried about what their students are eating, whether they are ok and what is going to happen to them now following reports of a mudslide in the informal settlement areas. Many of the students are from impoverished homes.

Most of the teachers have been with the school for over a decade describing the school as a school of excellence.

A quick internet search brings up the many achievements that the school has attained despite the challenges.

Following the trip to assess the needs of the local communities, the acting head or Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in South Africa, Ayodele Odusola, said the UN would provide R21 million (US$1.3million) of its projects budget to support the Government’s efforts in the hardest hit communities.