Help for South Africa flood victims 'insufficient'
South Africa government aid is 'a drop in the ocean' after deadly floods, says the charity The Built Environment Support Group, which aims to help poor communities access land.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised more help to rebuild devastated communities following the flash floods and mudslides that killed more than 400 people a fortnight ago.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal was hardest hit as 75% of the country's average annual rainfall fell in 24-hours. According to Cameron Brisbane - Executive Director of the charity the Built Environment Support Group, which aims to help poor communities access land and public services in the region – the long term recovery for those communities requires a step change in thinking about climate change.
“Climate change is going to have an impact periodically in very unpredictable ways. We never seem to be prepared for it. The greatest impact has been in our informal settlements and rural areas. A lot of rural communities are literally cut off.â€
“The government has provided a billion rand in disaster relief – a drop in the ocean – it really is not sufficient. In comparison, European countries banded together a few months ago to offer South Africa 130 billon rand to reduced our dependency on coal.â€
(Pic: South African President Ramaphosa meets people who lost family members during flooding in Clermont, South Africa ; Credit: Reuters)
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