A month after deadly floods hit KwaZulu-Natal, the provincial government is still locked in talks with the National Treasury on the allocation of disaster funds to the tune of R1-billion.

"We are told that R1-billion has been allocated to KZN, we have not yet received that money, but we are working with National Treasury and provincial treasury on the processes that need to be followed so that the money is allocated to relevant sector departments to municipalities," Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka said on Wednesday.

Hlomuka was briefing the media in Durban about various issues, including budgets for damages and repairs, after the floods.

He said provincial departments were also juggling their budgets.

"We will be guided by the national government, but I am aware that we need to reprioritise our budget as well to talk to the disaster. All departments affected by this disaster, they need to reprioritise the budget to speak to the disaster."

Hlomuka added that some of the worst-affected areas were identified in the western and northern parts of Durban, where water supply is in question.

The Tongaat Water Works was destroyed during the flooding, leaving tens of thousands of residents without clean running water.

Contaminated river water

In addition, there are high E.Coli levels in rivers, raising alarm bells for many rural communities that rely on river water daily.

"The infrastructure damages owing to recent torrential rains pose a risk of the contamination of water sources, such as rivers. As restoration of water has progressed in most areas, focus will now be on the protection of water resources to minimise deterioration.

"Most water resources (rivers) in the eThekwini District have been found to have a significantly high percentage of water contaminants (mainly E.Coli) due to raw sewer spillages, owing to water treatment works infrastructure damages.

"This increases the risk of a potential outbreak of waterborne diseases, like cholera, hepatitis, typhoid fever, etc. We are appealing to communities to exercise extreme caution when dealing with water from rivers."

He added that they were attempting to augment the supply of water in the northern parts of the city, with eThekwini having 263 water tankers. Tongaat and Verulam residents have complained that they don't see many water tankers in the areas.

According to Hlomuka, more than 400 lives were lost (386 in eThekwini, 31 in iLembe, seven in Ugu, four in King Cetshwayo, three in Harry Gwala, two in uMgungundlovu and two in uMzinyathi);

• 48 people are still unaccounted for;
• 77 600 lives were severely disrupted;
• 7 286 homes were destroyed;
• 12 062 homes were partially destroyed,
• There is R25 billion (with assessments still under way) worth of damages to both public and private infrastructure across the province; and
• Disaster management teams have conducted 748 search operations and more than 168 rescues.