South Africa: Govt Declares National Disaster Over Severe Weather

Lead

South Africa has declared a national disaster in response to a wave of severe weather that has battered several provinces over the past week. The Department of Cooperative Governance announced on Saturday evening that extreme conditions—including heavy rain, flooding, violent thunderstorms, destructive winds, and snowfall—have been affecting the country since May 4. Six provinces have been impacted: the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Free State, and Mpumalanga.

Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre, made the declaration official after consulting with state bodies and provincial disaster management authorities and reviewing the scale of the damage. The designation shifts primary responsibility for coordinating the response to the national government.

The declaration comes as rescue and clean-up teams continue working across multiple provinces in the wake of widespread flooding, collapsed infrastructure, road closures, and power outages. Authorities have not yet released updated figures on casualties.

Coverage Comparison

Reports from AllAfrica provide a detailed picture of the unfolding crisis, with varying emphasis across different articles. Some focus on the national disaster declaration and the coordination efforts led by Elias Sithole, while others highlight the human toll and the dramatic scenes of flooding, particularly in the Northern Cape and Free State. A separate set of reports concentrates on the Western Cape, where every school has been ordered closed on Tuesday due to the continuing severe weather.

The language used in the coverage ranges from purely informative to more emotive, with some reports referring to "killer floods" and "raging waters" to describe the impact. Despite these differences in tone, the core facts—such as the declaration, school closures, and the death toll—are consistent across the reports.

Key Claims

• National disaster declaration: South Africa has declared a national disaster in response to severe weather affecting six provinces since May 4. Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre, made the declaration official after consultations with state bodies and provincial authorities.
• Affected provinces: The Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Free State, and Mpumalanga have all been impacted by the extreme conditions, which include heavy rain, flooding, violent thunderstorms, destructive winds, and snowfall.
• School closures: Every school in the Western Cape will be closed on Tuesday, 12 May, as announced by Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier. Dozens of schools in the Cape Winelands, Eden, and Central Karoo districts had already been shuttered in the preceding days due to flooding, dangerous roads, and storm-related damage.
• Weather warnings: The South African Weather Service issued a Level 8 warning for disruptive rainfall and flooding across a wide swathe of the Western Cape, including the City of Cape Town. Forecasters warned of 200–300mm of rainfall in mountainous areas and wind gusts up to 120 km/h in parts of the Cape Winelands and Central Karoo.
• Impact in the Northern Cape: Floods have cut off nearly two thousand families in the Northern Cape, with rescue teams using helicopters to reach stranded people. Officials have also rescued 400 families in Karos and Leerkrantz.
• Impact in the Free State: Flash floods in Thabong, Welkom, have flooded more than 3,400 homes and affected 12,000 people.
• Death toll: The death toll stands at three. A young girl drowned in the North West on Sunday, and police pulled two more bodies from the water in the Northern Cape.
• Relief efforts: Gift of the Givers teams have rushed to the worst-affected areas, working with the police and the army to move families to safe community halls. Trucks are rushing food and supplies from Johannesburg and Cape Town, with malls in Durban, East London, and Gqeberha prepared to open as collection points if needed.
• Government response: Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa warned people to stay away from swollen rivers. Elias Sithole urged the government to reinforce support for disaster management structures and called for a coordinated, multi-sector plan covering prevention, mitigation, relief, and rehabilitation, with regular progress reports.
• Ongoing risks: The South African Weather Service has warned that the region is not yet in the clear, cautioning that heavy rain and strong winds could continue.