Rapid Assessment of the government’s intervention on the April 2022 flood disaster in Kwazulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Norther West

This report provides the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation’s (DPME) Rapid Assessment of progress on the government’s flood disaster interventions as at January 2023, in response to the April 2022 floods that affected parts of KwaZulu- Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape (EC) and North-West (NW). The aim of the Rapid Assessment is to trace the emergent results or outcomes of the flood disaster interventions, synthesise lessons and make recommendations for improvements going forward. The report uses the latest data accessed by the time of its compilation, which is 17 March 2023. The content of this report supports the ongoing monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities in the system of disaster management in South Africa, which includes and not limited to, DPME Frontline Monitoring activities to verify the extent to which the damages from flood disaster have been restored, communication and gathering of citizen feedback, process of review of the disaster management system, planning at various levels as well as detailed work on evaluations by the province or relevant national departments. The report also makes an input to close-out records for the Oversight Committee on The National State of Disaster on the Impact of the Severe Weather Events (“Oversight Committee”). The Disaster Management Act (57 of 2002 as amended) (DMA) and the National Disaster Management Framework of 2005 (NDMF) provide a sound legislative and institutional framework for disaster management in South Africa.1 Relevant global frameworks and guidance advocate for national systems of disaster to speedily shift in orientation from the reactive response, relief and recovery towards disaster risk reduction (DRR).2 The most recent major disasters, namely the Covid-19 pandemic, the July 2021 unrests and the April 2022 flood disasters have tested the system of disaster management, revealing specific strengths and limitations as they pertain to various areas of intervention.