South Africa, at least 57 deaths in the floods of the Eastern Chapter: “We are paralyzed by the lack of resources”

An announced tragedy that hit the eastern chief, in South Africa, where floods caused at least 57 victims in the area of Marthaas reported by ap. The dramatic event raises questions about the preparation of local authorities in the face of natural disasters, increasingly frequent due to climate change.

The waters reached 3-4 meters in height when they escaped from the river in the early hours of Tuesday, overwhelming the nearby communities while many people slept. “The provincial team for the management of catastrophes does not have sufficient resources and this hinders the response times to emergencies,” he said Oscar MabuyanePremier of the Province, to the Sabc state television station.

The complaint: “Paralyzed by the lack of resources”

The hardest words come from Mabuyane himself, who did not hesitate to denounce the inadequacy of the means available to cope with the emergency. “When things like that happen, we always find ourselves in difficulty. We are paralyzed“, Said the provincial premier.

The numbers make evident the disproportion between the needs and resources available: the province of the Eastern Chapter, mainly rural and inhabited by about 7.2 million peoplehas a single rescue helicopter, who arrived in MTHatha from the city of GQEberha after having traveled over 500 kilometers. There are no specialized divers and dog units, which have been requested by other regions.

Victims trapped on roofs and trees

The testimonies tell of dramatic scenes: people with refugees on the roofs of the buildings and on the trees, with shouts of help that have lasted for hours before the arrival of the rescue. On Wednesday the recovery teams extracted the bodies from the water, inserting them in blue bags under the eyes of the survivors.

A bus that transported a group of high school students was overwhelmed by the flood on Tuesday morning. Six students died with the driver and another adult, while three boys were saved after clinging to the trees. Four are instead dispersed.

Infrastructure huge damage

The material balance is as heavy as heavy as the human one: at least 58 schools and 20 hospitals in the province have been damaged, while hundreds of families have lost their homes. The critical infrastructures, including roads and bridges, have also undergone serious damage that further compromise rescue and recovery.

The floods were caused by an extreme cold front that brought strong rains, intense winds and snow in some areas of eastern and southern South Africa. Meteorologists had launched the alarm for adverse weather conditions already last week.

Political controversies and responsibilities

The South African president Cyril Ramaphosa He announced a visit to the province for Friday, declaring that he wants to “see with his own eyes how much our people are suffering”. The head of state activated the National Disaster Management Center to support local authorities.

There is no shortage of political controversies: the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters He attributed the tragedy to the “negligence of the government” in some parts of the eastern chief, highlighting how many people lived in alluvial plains near the river.

The minister Velenkosini Hlabisawho guided a government delegation on the spot, defined the incident “a real disaster, a catastrophe”, underlining how part of the problem derives from the location of settlements in areas with high hydrogeological risk.