COGTA declares state of disaster in Gauteng

THE Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has declared a provincial state of disaster in Gauteng.

In a gazetted notice on Wednesday (25 January), the department said the state of disaster in the province is in effect from 23 January and will continue until such time as authorities deem the disaster over – or the regulated period lapses.

The declaration of a provincial state of disaster follows severe flooding that took place in the City of Joburg and the greater Johannesburg region in the latter parts of December 2022.

Torrential rain, hail storms and flooding resulted in the loss of life, damage to property, infrastructure and the environment, and left municipalities like the City of Joburg struggling to deal with the fallout.

Damage from the floods has been exacerbated in recent weeks by ongoing load shedding – though this has not been folded into the official declaration.

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