A Special Full Council sat on 18 May to update council on the recent flood disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts. Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda praised City officials for their commitment in repairing damaged infrastructure and restoring of services to communities. He was also thankful for the support given to the City by the Provincial Government together in ensuring timeous responses to communities.

A total of 390 fatalities have been confirmed so far with a further 60 people still missing. The City continues to support efforts to search for those who are missing. The total damage caused by the floods to city infrastructure is estimated at R3.8 billion, excluding human settlements.

Currently 84 places are being used as shelters to house 9442 displaced people. The City provides meals, food packs, blankets, hygiene packs, nursing services among others. In this the City is supported by a number of partners.

The City has been able to process the burial of 129 people through the Motsepe foundation.

ELECTRICITY
In excess of 100 power stations were severely affected by the floods, leaving many parts of the city in darkness. To date all high voltage sub stations have been restored with some work still in progress on low and medium voltage faults. Some communities are, however, still experiencing outages these are due to the challenges of cable theft.

A mobile power station has helped restore supply to the Mariannridge Power Station which caught fire days after the flood disaster.

The City is aware of power supply being interrupted in KwaNdengezi almost daily. This is caused by an electricity overload between KwaNdengenzi and Zwelibomvu after the damage caused to the Mariannridge Substation. Work at the Mariannridge Substation to resolve this problem is expected to be completed in the next two weeks. In the interim, residents from these affected areas are urged to reduce their electricity usage during the evenings peak time between 5pm and 7pm.

WATER
The is substantial progress on restoring water supply in areas where infrastructure was severely damaged. To date water supply has improved by 75-80% in most areas of eThekwini, however, there is still a challenge in some areas. Repairs are underway in areas with an interrupted water supply.

The heavy rains also severely damaged the water treatment plant in oThongathi. Major repairs in this area are expected to take a few months at an estimated cost of R30m.

As an interim solution, the Municipality has intensified the provision of additional water tankers, and more static tanks will be added to the current 42. There are also boreholes established by Gift of the Givers and a donated package plant from Amatis. The public is cautioned that water from boreholes and package plant is not for consumption, but rather for other uses such as toilets and washing.

Following the construction of the emergency water supply pipeline from Nyaninga Reservoir to Tongaat South Reservoir (located at Chelmsford Buffelsdale area) the Municipality confirms that necessary tie-ins were completed on the 16th of May 2022. The Municipality is currently reconfiguring the existing system for the new pipeline to receive water at Tongaat South Reservoir. Access to piped water supply is expected to be available in the next few days for the following areas that feed from the Tongaat South Reservoir,

• Watsonia
• Buffelsdale
• Mithanager
• Trurolands
• Gandhinagar
• Chelmsford Heights
• Part of Tongaat Central Business District

The community is advised that the supply to oThongathi South areas was achievable due to the design nature of the reticulation system and the proximity of available existing water point. The Municipality further advises that supply to the oThongathi South areas will be intermittent as it must ration supply between these areas and the following areas feeding from Nyaninga Reservoir:

• King Shaka international Airport
• Dube Tradeport Agrizone
• Mount Morelands
• Shortlands

The Municipality continues its plan to augment supply to more areas fed from the damaged Tongaat Water Treatment Works and will be reporting in due course on updates for the Hambanathi, Emona, Mamba Ridge and surrounding areas.

Supply is still a challenge in the lower Molweni area and Wushwini due to road and water infrastructure being destroyed. About 188 water tankers have been deployed as an interim measure, to supply water in all affected areas. We have also started to put static tanks and drill boreholes in some areas.

Supply to Ntuzuma and surrounding areas is also a challenge. The Municipality continues to balance supply in these areas by rationing. Major pipeline replacement work that will secure supply to the following areas is due for completion by the by next week:

• Inanda Newtown B,
• Inanda Newtown C,
• Inhlungwana,
• Ezimangweni
• Bester

WASTEWATER AND SEWERAGE
The total cost of emergency repairs to the sewer network through the City is in excess of R72 millions. Priority will be given to the northern areas due to the extent of the sewer blockages as well as the south areas where major repairs are ongoing.

ROADS AND STORMWATER MAINTENANCE (RSWM)
The City has made significant progress with repairing and reinstating damaged roads and stormwater infrastructure. The Department attended to 890 incidents of damaged infrastructure. The Department has repaired 241 roads in the North, 275 in the South and 374 in the West.

HOUSING
The floods resulted in the damage to 8000 formal and informal houses. With regards to housing support, priority will be given to those housed currently in mass care centres. Assistance include material supply to 3088 households, repairs, rebuilding of 175 houses and 560 temporary residential units that are being constructed by the KZN Department of Human Settlements.

Over 60 houses are currently being built in 9 wards and temporary residential units are being constructed in Molweni, KwaMakhutha and Inanda. These which will soon be handed over to beneficiaries.

ETHEKWINI TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

Durban Transport is operating as many trips as possible, including areas in the South (70%). The main constraint is availability of buses which is further exacerbated by the number of buses which sustained substantial water damage.

With regards to minibus taxi operations, the South region is beginning to operate at full capacity as some road closures have eased. In the North, operators are still using alternative routes as some of the affected areas are still impacted by road closures. The Western and Central areas continue to operate at full capacity.

Assessment to the Ntuzuma and Rossburgh bus depots which were badly damaged were done and rebuilding and renovation is expected to cost R2.9 million.

The temporary detour into and out of Umlazi through R102 interchange is open to traffic. The section between the said interchange and M4 south has been badly damaged, the teams are clearing it with a view to also have it temporarily open before major remedial works.

Solomon Mahlangu (M7) is open to traffic. All debris and sand have been removed. The fast lane in both directions near the Southway Mall is closed off due to the fence having fallen over.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
Based on the preliminary data from a survey conducted by the Economic Development Unit the most affected sectors of our economy are manufacturing with an estimated damage of R431m, Agriculture R12.6m, Construction R18m, Wholesale and Retail R46m, Warehousing and Logistics R33m. We are currently engaging the provincial and national government on what support can be provided to all affected businesses including SMMEs.

TOURISM
Since the floods occurred during the week of Good Friday, the city lost about 30 000 visitors with a total loss of about R75m to the GDP. To kickstart the tourism sector after the floods and demonstrate our resilience, the city recently hosted a successful Africa Travel Indaba 2022 attended by over 3 700 delegates. This event allowed us to showcase the City as the destination of choice to the international buyers.

“The municipality appeals for patience as it works to fully restore services. We also appeal for unhindered access for water tankers and for our staff to effect repairs,” said Kaunda.

Ends.

Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit.