Durban - The eThekwini Municipality has provided five steps that flood damage claimants can follow in order to claim for flood damage, following recent heavy rainfall and flooding in KwaZulu-Natal.
In April and May, heavy rainfall resulted in flooding and caused damage to infrastructure.
The municipality shared the steps in a public notice.
It said that the municipality’s Self Insurance Policy allowed residents to claim damages to property, under the Public Liability Cover, only if the incident was because of negligence by the eThekwini Municipality.
“The recent floods were an act of nature, therefore the city is not liable for the loss incurred and will not honour claims related to flood-related damage to private property,” the municipality said.
For incidents that are genuinely caused by acts of negligence on the part of the municipality, residents can lodge a claim by following this process: Download public liability claim form from www.durban.gov.za, then complete the form and attach the following supporting documents:
- Copy of identity document
- Three quotations
- Proof of damages
- Sworn affidavit: asset ownership and that the claimant won’t be claiming from personal insurance
- Email the completed form and all documents to [email protected]
Commenting on the municipality’s Facebook post, this is what users said:
Vukile M Kubheka agreed that yes, the floods were an act of nature. However, the resultant damages from the floods could be laid squarely on the municipality’s doorstep.
“It is sad that the people who lost the most have no insurance and will have no resources to take you on and hold you responsible! But, watch out for the residents from the affluent suburbs. They are going to come for you hard. uMdloti residents have started already,” Kubheka said.
He said a few examples of what could be regarded as negligence by the municipality included:
- Lack of maintenance of stormwater drainage systems.
- Leaving people to stay in flood-prone areas.
- Not exercising due diligence on major construction projects.
Kubheka asked how negligence could be proven.
“Residents had been reporting on some of the issues above way before the floods and you did nothing to very little in addressing these,” Kubheka said.
“Oh, residents get issued with reference numbers each time they report faults, so there is a record. A fault reference number with no proof that the matter was resolved and the case closed = negligence.”
Lorna Mary Daniels said: “What utter nonsense. Always blaming acts of nature, but it's your incompetence. If infrastructure was properly and regularly maintained and upgraded and backhanded bribes weren't made with ruthless developers to develop irrespective of the impact it has on our environment, the majority of the devastation could have been avoided. When are you going to man up and accept responsibility? Sick of hearing this hogwash.”
Gary Stanton said that if planning and construction were done correctly, there would never have been flooding damage as this risk is assessed in the planning stages.
Jaun Jan DB said: “The flooding was not a result of nature, it was a result of bad planning, not maintaining anything and rather stealing that money.”
Daily News