The devastating floods that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal last week have claimed hundreds of lives and left damage to thousands of homes. Thousands of people have been displaced. Many more are missing. The relentless rains are making recovery efforts even more difficult.

A week ago, the KZN provincial government declared a provincial state of disaster, but this proved to be inadequate. On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster, contending that the damage to the port of Durban had far-reaching consequences for the entire country. This enables the mobilisation of more resources, capabilities and technical expertise in providing relief, recovery and rehabilitation to affected areas...