A new report by Amnesty International shows the consequences of government failures in South Africa, revealing that millions of people residing in informal settlements and Temporary Relocation Areas (TRAs) face high risks of death and destruction due to endemic poverty, poor infrastructure, and severely lacking disaster planning and response.

The vulnerability of these communities is part of the ongoing housing crisis and the failure of the government to guarantee the right to adequate housing.

More than 5 million people in South Africa live in informal settlements. These areas are often situated close to riverbanks, in low-lying areas, or on dangerous floodplains, are highly susceptible to flooding, waterlogging, and mudslides.

Residents experience chronic insecurity, with overcrowded, makeshift homes often lacking running water, electricity, or safe sanitation.

Life defined by fear and filth

The fear of flooding has grown as climate change has made such events increasingly frequent and severe.

As one resident of Barcelona informal settlement in Cape Town noted, “Flooding has become the norm for us… when it floods you need gumboots to walk around the settlement as you don’t know whether you are walking in mud or faeces”.

Residents described the terror they feel when it starts raining, knowing that toilets will quickly spew excrement down alleyways, homes and possessions might be washed away, and livelihoods lost. Seasonal flooding regularly damages furniture, food stocks, and clothes, leading to missed school days and lost vital income for daily wage earners.

While not every flood is caused by climate change, the 2022 KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) floods were attributed to record-breaking rainfall. Those floods killed around 435 people and left 80 missing. World Weather Attribution concluded that the probability of such a disaster had approximately doubled due to human-induced climate change.

Haphazard and deadly response

The 2022 KZN floods exposed shortcomings, with many displaced people moved into Transitional Emergency Accommodation (TEA) facilities. Some families were still living in TEAs under highly inadequate conditions three years later.

In a damning incident of inadequate planning, the City of eThekwini relocated around 100 flood-impacted households to a Temporary Relocation Area established in Lamontville, on the banks of the Umlazi river.

This decision had deadly consequences: residents of the Lamontville TRA were flooded again in February 2025 and had to flee their homes for a second time. Five people, including three children aged 5, 11, and 16, died in the Lamontville TRA during those floods. The failure of the eThekwini municipality to ensure safe relocation sites ultimately cost these five individuals their lives.

To make matters worse, people impacted by the February 2025 floods were initially accommodated in hotels and holiday flats in Durban, but were later evicted from a hotel after about 5 months, reportedly due to the provincial Department of Human Settlements failing to pay.

Moreover, regular seasonal flooding is often not considered a disaster by municipalities. Residents of settlements like Dakota and eNkanini in eThekwini, who experienced serious flooding in late 2024 and early 2025 (in which two people died in eNkanini), reported receiving no help from the municipality, and were left to rely on charitable organisations.

While flooding poses deadly risks, it is worth remembering the fires that leave a trail of destruction at informal settlements. 

Earlier this month, a fire ripped through Wingfield Tent City, affecting all the residents, leaving them uncertain of the next steps. This fire is just one of many incidents that was a result of poor planning and poor infrastructure. 

Resident and victim of the incident, Fatuma Mussa Rukundo told IOL that the fire caused widespread damage and left residents unsure of the next steps.

“Everything is destroyed. Our houses, businesses, food, clothes and belongings are destroyed. Thank God we are alive, but everything is gone.” 

Systemic governance failures

Municipalities, which are the first point of call for disaster management, housing, and essential services, are often underpowered and ill-equipped.

A 2023 report acknowledged that 163 out of 257 municipalities were dysfunctional due to issues like poor governance, ineffective financial management, and poor service delivery and planning.

For instance, eThekwini municipality had a 58% vacancy rate for technical staff in the water and sanitation unit, preventing critical maintenance and negatively impacting water provision. The lack of financial and technical capacity in local government carries human rights consequences, particularly for the most marginalised.

Experts and community leaders argue that the solution lies in the upgrading of informal settlements.

This process would include regularisation of land, security of tenure, installation of essential public services (such as paved roads, storm water drainage, and sanitation systems), and structural improvement to housing.

In its Presidency of the G20 in 2025, South Africa set strengthening disaster resilience and response as an overarching priority. The government must now mobilise the necessary human, financial, and technical resources to ensure Disaster Risk Reduction is fully integrated into urban planning, especially to protect residents of informal settlements from the foreseeable rise in extreme weather and flooding.

IOL

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