28 municipalities to be declared disaster areas
2011-01-17 17:27
Bloemfontein - A national state of disaster would be declared in seven provinces covering 28 municipalities, Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka announced on Monday.
In terms of the Disaster Management Act, he would recommend that a Government Gazette be issued to declare a national state of disaster covering the areas.
The areas earmarked were Gauteng, which would include the Sedibeng and West Rand district municipalities, the Tshwane Metropole, City of Johannesburg and the Ekurhuleni Metro.
In the Free State the Fezile Dabi-, Xhariep- and Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipalities would be declared disaster areas.
The areas listed in KwaZulu-Natal were the UThukela-, iLembe-, Sisonke-Amajuba- and Ugu district municipalities and the Ethekwini Metro.
In Mpumalanga it would the Nkangala and Ehlanzeni district municipalities.
In North West, the Dr Ruth Sekgomotse Mompati-, Dr Kenneth Kaunda-, Ngaka Modiri Molema- and Bojanala district municipalities were listed.
In the Northern Cape, the district municipalities of Frances Baard, Siyanda, Prixley kaSeme and Namakwa were down for disaster relief and in Limpopo the Mopani-, Sekhukhune-, Waterberg- and Vhembe municipalities.
The national disaster management centre noted that more than 6 000 people nationally had been displaced by the floods and other incidents of natural disasters.
About 40 people lost their lives.
Damage so far amounted to about R356m in three provinces alone. Assessments were still being done in the other provinces.
- SAPA
