Flood - South Africa

GLIDE CODE: FL-2006-08-31-7420-ZAF
Date & Time: 2006-08-31 09:16:06 [UTC]
Area: South Africa Southern Cape, , ( MAP)

Description:

The Southern Cape will finally be declared a disaster area. This announcement was made by Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool during a quick visit to the region after he and four of his ministers had determined the damage caused by floods that had devastated the area since August 1. Rasool initially refused to declare the region a disaster area. "Since the beginning of the month damage to the value of R473m had been done to the infrastructure. This will soon increase to more than R500m." The closure of the N2 in the Kaaimans Pass had a further economic impact on the region. Agriculture minister Cobus Dowry said farmers from the Klein Karoo in particular, who suffered a bad drought, two floods and a bird flu epidemic, would be glad about the financial aid.

Damage level: Catastrophic