South African hospitals flooded with R297 million in damages

Natural disasters, such as floods and storms, have caused at least R296.94 million in damages to South Africa’s health facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics, over the past two years.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in response to a recent Parliamentary question from DA MP Michéle Clarke.

Clarke asked the minister how many health facilities were damaged due to natural disasters, such as floods and storms, in each province during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.

She further asked about the cost of damage at each facility, details of the damage, and the timeline for repairs.

In his response, Motsoaledi explained that this data is only available for six provinces, as the Free State and Northern Cape have not reported damages, and his department is still awaiting a report from Mpumalanga.

He confirmed that 142 facilities across seven provinces (including Mpumalanga) were affected by rain damage between 2023/24 and 2024/25. However, he could only provide details about 126 facilities without Mpumalanga’s report.

Of the six provinces Motsoaledi detailed, the Eastern Cape was hit the hardest by far, with R128.32 million worth of damage.

The second hardest-hit province was KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with R88.08 million in damages. The Eastern Cape and KZN are known for their natural disasters, which have become more frequent in recent years.

Despite having the highest cost of damages, the Eastern Cape reported that only 17 facilities were damaged. The province with the highest number of damaged facilities was the Western Cape with 47.

The facilities experienced damage ranging from leaky roofs to gates needing to be replaced. In some provinces, trees also fell on roofs.

Motsoaledi noted that some of the facilities cost more to repair because the provinces took advantage of repairs needed for storm damage to renovate parts of the facilities that had deteriorated from ageing rather than rain damage.

The breakdown of the damage each province’s facilities experienced is shown in the table below.

South Africa’s insurance problem

Major South African insurers have warned about the threat that more frequent natural disasters pose to the country’s insurance industry.

South Africa’s largest short-term insurer, Santam, recently explained that the rise in extreme weather events makes insurance coverage more difficult to price and provide.

Additionally, the global rise of these events affects the price of reinsurance, as reinsurers demand higher premiums for coverage in specific areas. 

Therefore, Santam explained that extreme weather events complicate coverage and, combined with rising insurance costs globally, limit insurers’ ability to withstand the impact of once-off catastrophic events.

This puts insurers in a difficult position. They must risk raising their own prices, reducing affordability, or limiting coverage, which would exacerbate the impact of an extreme event. 

Santam CEO Tavaziva Madzinga stated that insurance coverage is becoming increasingly complex to price and provide in areas where risk is poorly understood or where failing infrastructure exacerbates the impact of extreme weather. 

This is particularly concerning as urban development continues in flood-prone or inadequately serviced areas. 

The insurer highlighted specific parts of the country as “high risk”, including Ladysmith, St Francis Bay and Centurion.

An increase in extreme weather events in these areas could result in a higher average cost per claim for insurers, necessitating either an increase in premiums or reduced coverage. 

The Reserve Bank also recently warned that South Africa’s financial sector is increasingly vulnerable to climate-related shocks, as the rise in extreme weather events puts pressure on insurers and banks.

The central bank stated that these risks take various forms, including increased payouts to clients, higher premiums, and stricter collateral requirements for lending.