Eloise leaves 6 dead and thousands homeless in Eswatini
Prime minister Masuku said settlement patterns in the kingdom would have to be reconsidered in order to avoid and reduce the loss lives in future, especially along river banks.
Eswatini acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku. Picture: Twitter @EswatiniGovern1
Eswatini acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku says six people have died after trying to cross flooded rivers following cyclone Eloise.
In a report, Masuku said that the cyclone resulted in the damage of infrastructure such as roads that covered at least 775km, and 53 bridges, property, agriculture, as well as disturbance in the delivery of essential services.
“Sadly, six people died while attempting to cross flooded rivers. It is clear that the deaths could have been avoided had we all heeded to the alerts and warnings issued by various government departments including the police, national disasters management agency and the meteorology department that no attempts should be made to cross flooded rivers,” said Masuku.
Masuku said that at least 2015 people, from 500 homes, were directly affected by the cyclone.
Masuku also said that as a disaster response, a total of 105 people were moved from their homes to safer places to stay temporarily, and provided with food, water and other necessities.
ALSO READ: Tropical Cyclone Eloise causes extensive damage in Beira, Mozambique
Masuku added that the government would be helping those that did not have the resources to rebuild their damaged homes.
On Road Maintenance:
● Cabinet has approved maintenance & upgrading plans of roads covering about 400 kms in all four regions.
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) February 7, 2021
Masuku said that some homes experienced rock falls, and around 66 water pumps and several water facilities were damaged, affecting the supply of water capacity and access to drinkable water in some of the country’s urban areas, including the Swazi capital Mbabane.
On Potable Water:
● A total of 15 potable water projects will be implemented in 2021, to impact about 114 000 people across the country.
● This is expected to bring potable water coverage in the country to 79%.
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) February 7, 2021
Masuku added that settlement patterns in the kingdom would have to be reconsidered in order to avoid and reduce the loss lives in future, especially along river banks.
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