Statistics: what we know about KwaZulu-Natal’s recent fire disasters

Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal government has taken stock of the recent fires which have left scores homeless, several dead and damage to various sectors.

This was according to KZN Premier Thami Ntuli, who provided an update on Tuesday on the devastation caused by winter fires in the province recently.

Ntuli said that since the start of July, their disaster teams responded to sporadic veld fire incidents in communities across the province, fanned by the strong winds.

He said this left a trail of destruction and, sadly, claimed lives while leaving some families without a roof over their heads. Subsistence farmers have suffered immensely as grazing lands were burnt to ashes. Livestock and animals in some game reserves were destroyed by these fires.

Ntuli explained that this puts severe strain on the government’s efforts, particularly because KZN is still reeling from several recent disasters, such as 2022, 2023 and 2024 floods, the recent storms and tornado that hit several district municipalities, with oThongathi areas in eThekwini being hardest hit.

“The estimated cost from the June third storms is R2.3 billion,” Ntuli said.

He said that after the weather warnings of strong winds up to level 4 in different areas, as predicted by the SA Weather Service, their disaster management teams, working together with emergency and fire rescue services and social partners, have been on the ground since the start of July providing relief and profiling all those affected.

“It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that our province has recorded 14 fatalities as a result of fires while 25 people were seriously injured and are receiving treatment in various hospitals. These fatalities are a result of veld fires and house fires that became uncontrollable,” Ntuli said.

“On Sunday, six firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty while responding to the veld fire in the area of Boston towards Bulwer in uMngeni Local Municipality. These brave workers who paid the ultimate price, worked for Farmusa Contracting, a contractor to Sappi Forests for firefighting and silviculture services.”

Ntuli explained that the firefighters were assisting in fighting fires on Sterling Farm, about 30km from Bulwer. The farm is adjacent to the Sappi Pinewoods plantation, and fires had been raging on the farm since about 3am. According to reports, the adverse weather conditions contributed to uncontrollable fires which ultimately trapped eight team members.

He said the incident occurred while their teams had responded to other fatal incidents in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality, where families buried their loved ones over the weekend. The fires in King Cetshwayo District Municipality affected uMfolozi, uMlalazi, Mthonjaneni and Nkandla municipal areas

“As you know we have just returned (Tuesday) from an oversight visit to Kenville informal settlement in Durban, where over 400 people are homeless…, after one of the informal settlements caught fire, which then became uncontrollable and destroyed over 200 houses in that area,” Ntuli said.

“Sadly, at the Kenville informal settlement, one woman who was pregnant lost her life due to burn wounds.”

Ntuli said that provincially, these incidents had affected over 3 491 people, some of whom have no place to stay as their households were completely destroyed.

“Outside of the Kenville informal settlement incident, a total of 403 houses were completely destroyed while 340 were partially destroyed. Of these figures King Cetshwayo District Municipality was heavily hit with 214 houses completely destroyed and 117 partially damaged,” Ntuli explained.

He said the fires also affected key infrastructure, such as electricity and water.

He also said reports from their disaster teams indicate that the agricultural and forestry sectors are among the most affected, as thousands of hectares of grazing land, forestry, and sugar cane were burnt down. Hundreds of subsistence farmers in various districts were also affected, leaving others with no grazing land for livestock. Some also lost their livestock, while game reserves lost animals.

“Approximately 140 farmers have been reported to be impacted. Most of the affected farmers, at least 49%, are in the category of subsistence farmers. This is because they are more vulnerable as they are residing in open communal lands with fewer firebreaks, 32% are in the category of commercial and 17% are smallholder farmers. Major losses were reported on veld and livestock,” Ntuli continued.

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Ntuli also said that in the education sector, some schools were also destroyed when strong winds blew off roofs, leaving pupils and teachers with no proper place for teaching and learning.

Some areas, particularly in rural regions, are still experiencing outages due to power lines being burnt down. Eskom is hard at work restoring such infrastructure to bring normality to the affected areas.

Speaking on the government’s response, Ntuli said the respective MECs are working closely with those affected to find solutions and, most importantly, assist those in need.

• A temporary residential unit was built for the Gazu family in King Cetshwayo District Municipality who lost a family member.
• Through the Provincial Disaster Management Relief Material, the government has distributed food parcels, blankets, Box-Bs, plastic sheeting, foam mattresses, fire beaters and knapsack sprayers.
• In the eThekwini area following the Kenville informal settlement fire, the government, both provincial and eThekwini Metro provided two marquees, a soup kitchen, a clinic on site and mobile ablution facilities.
• The Department of Social Development is conducting assessments to be able to provide social welfare services.

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