The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has declared the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) floods, which have claimed the lives of over 300 people and displaced many families, a provincial disaster in line with the Disaster Management Act.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the province on Wednesday, accompanied by Premier Sihle Zikalala and Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to see firsthand how the floods affected infrastructure.

Ramaphosa promised that the province would get support from the national government and other provinces.

A statement from Cogta says the decision to declare the floods a provincial disaster is in line with the terms of Section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002).

Cogta says the decision follows the recommendation and assessments done on the magnitude and severity of the impact of the weather events by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre.

Cogta has urged government departments to strengthen support to existing structures to implement contingency arrangements and ensure that measures are put in place to enable the province to effectively deal with the effects of the disaster.