South Africa Declares National Disaster Over Floods

South Africa declared a national disaster after heavy rains flooded seven of its nine provinces, destroying roads and bridges and leaving farmers suffering losses.

The government declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, co-ordinated response to the impact of floods.

It added that these conditions demand the provision of temporary shelters, food and blankets to homeless families and individuals and the large-scale, costly rehabilitation of infrastructure.

The national weather service predicts that the heavy rains will persist.