SA's Inadequet Disaster Relief Communications

PhysOrg.com

I found this article I read on NEWS24 this morning quite disturbing. During a cyclone most of the emergency numbers were out of order or unmanned. One operator that was on duty did not know what a cyclone is. Cyclone Irina has been credit for a number of deaths already.

What irritates me the most about this is how the ANC provincial government is spinning it: “The KwaZulu-Natal government has done a sterling job by putting all systems in place to swiftly respond to the cyclone. We have no doubt that these measures have helped to save many lives," according to an ANC spokesperson. Good grief! I think that if lives were saved, it probably happened inspite of the ANC, rather than because of it.

I love KwaZulu-Natal. It is one of the few places where I feel at home and where I could root myself; and it is probably because I love Natal so much, that this news bothers me so.