[imagesource: Theo Jeptha / African News Agency (ANA)]

At least 435 lives have been lost in the flooding that swept across KwaZulu-Natal last month.

Many are still missing, upwards of 17 000 homes have been wrecked, and an incalculable number of families have had their lives torn apart.

There are some things you cannot control, like a freak storm, but planning can still be put in place to try and mitigate the impact of such weather conditions.

Sadly, in a province rife with corruption and greed, that has not been done despite the warning signs. Residents also fear that funds earmarked for disaster relief will be gobbled up by cadres and comrades.

This Sunday, Carte Blanche took a closer look:

It was a perfect storm of poorly maintained drainage systems and a predictable, periodic deluge intensified by climate change. But this was not the first time KwaZulu-Natal suffered severe storms and flooding.

So, why were early warning systems and mitigation measures not put in place to protect the people of Durban against landslides and loss of life?

Carte Blanche assesses the hundreds of millions of rands in damage to roads, bridges, schools and clinics – the bitter price of an unpredictable climate and inadequate maintenance.

Our attention may have moved elsewhere but large parts of the province remain disaster areas.

Here’s the segment from Sunday:

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[source:carteblanche]