In a media briefing in late April, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Sihle Zikalala said that 435 people had lost their lives in the recent floods in parts of that province, while 54 people were still unaccounted for.
He also indicated that a total of 6 278 people had been left homeless and 55 people had been injured. Meanwhile, 7 245 people in eThekwini and 245 in KwaDukuza remained in shelters.
Zikalala added that despite the fact that government had reprioritised R1 billion towards disaster relief interventions, more than R17 billion was needed for additional interventions.
According to a report by the South African Cane Growers’ Association (SA Canegrowers), 308 sugar cane farmers had been affected by the disaster, while more than 2 516ha of sugar cane fields had suffered extensive deep-root damage. The damage to the fields was estimated at R194,9 million, while on-farm damage, including to infrastructure, was estimated at R27,9 million.
A number of local roads and bridges had also been washed away. These were not only the main transport nodes to mills, but also the access routes to and from farms, Dr Thomas Funke, CEO of SA Canegrowers, said in a statement.
This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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