SDCEA appalled by city’s disaster readiness

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) said they were appalled by the city’s storm readiness and the climate resilience following the heavy downpour which ripped through the South Durban area, over the last few days. SDCEA’s Desmond D’sa, said the impacts of climate change are worsening.

“The damages can be measured by the loss of life, injuries, damage to infrastructure, homes destroyed or undermined, collapsing buildings, waterway and beach erosion and crop destruction.  The spillage of toxics in South Durban is a common problem, and the spread of pollution through flooding can be devastating in our low-lying areas, especially those around the closed-down refineries. We are especially worried now that the Shell/ BP Sapref facility, which closed last month, and did not receive adequate maintenance in their oil storage facilities. The stance that mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has taken on the climate crisis is irresponsible, including his failure to ventilate a detailed report on the city’s lack of preparedness last year,” said D’sa.

ALSO READ: Severe flooding in Durban South areas

He said the citizens organisation’s in the area, including SDCEA, are still waiting for the city’s responses to the matters raised.

“What worries us is that the same problems plague our city every time we have an extreme storm. Ever-higher record rainfalls have hit our province in October 2017, April 2021 and this past weekend, reaching 200 millimetres in a 24-hour period. The storm water infrastructure, with too many blocked or inadequate drains, sewage pump failures, terracing, better-built housing and business structures all need improvement. There are too many cases of poor drainage systems within the city. We lack a serious climate adaptation and resilience strategy in spite of all the absurd hype the municipality generates. Where is an action plan now? We see this weekend’s flooding in the context of systemic failure by the government at national, provincial, and municipal levels,” he said.

In South Durban, D’sa said he was shocked that there was still a lack evacuation plans, despite known flooding in areas like the M4 and N2 highways, Tara Road, the Sapref Refinery, the M9 and South Coast Road.

ALSO READ: City opens community halls for residents affected by floods

“The grievances that so many of us face now, about the way the climate catastrophe is unfolding, empowers us to fight even harder for climate justice, even against an uncaring, unprepared municipality, which has failed to heed our warnings or respect our protests about climate change over the past 15 years. This only makes us more intent on raising our voices in the future,” said D’sa.  

DID YOU KNOW? 

Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 084 418 2286.

The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.

(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)