A survey by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has revealed that at least 826 companies were affected by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, with the cost of the damage estimated at R7bn.

This was revealed on Thursday by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala, who said the top three districts that had the biggest impact included eThekwini Municipality, iLembe and the Ugu District.

He said the floods had affected 31 220 jobs with eThekwini accounting for 68% of the jobs affected.

“The damage to Toyota has resulted in their temporary closure in the Durban South basin. Currently, an estimated 30 000 employees across the manufacturing industry are out of work. This means that employees could be without pay for approximately three months, given the severity of damage at Toyota South Africa.

“We are, however, very encouraged by the decision and the commitment of Toyota (globally) and other businesses to build back better here in KwaZulu-Natal despite the setbacks and losses to business caused by the floods. Recovery priorities include working with the private sector to ensure a disaster-proof rebuilding process,” Zikalala said.

The premier was addressing the media on the provincial government’s effort to recover and rebuild from the devastation caused by the floods.

Zikalala announced that port operations are being improved but are affected by the rest of the network in the province.

“Unfortunately, rail in the port area is damaged and will be back in operation in July 2022. There is consideration to open a new road along the railway line to ease movement of cargo. Electricity and water challenges around the port are affecting many companies, and until there is progress on roads feeding into the M7, we will be affected by costly delays at the Port of Durban,” Zikalala said.

However, operations at King Shaka International Airport are back to normal with the Dube Trade Port providing water tinkering by utilising its own equipment and sourcing water from their own dams.