Deployment of Army to South African Flood Areas to Cost $32 Million

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's deployment of 10,000 soldiers to help with relief efforts in the two provinces hit by devastating floods last month will cost more than $30 million.

South African National Defence Force members will work in KwaZulu-Natal, where more than 400 people died and landslides damaged roads and ports and washed away houses, and in the Eastern Cape until June 14, according to a letter from President Cyril Ramaphosa to parliament. The cost is expected to be 506.4 million rand ($32 million). 

The government declared a national state of disaster after the heaviest rain in decades triggered the floods. They have caused “billions of rands” of damage, Ramaphosa said last month. The government has allocated 1 billion rand for repairs and will seek lawmakers' approval for additional funds, he said. 

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