The South African Local Government Association (Salga) believes that the frequent flooding incidents in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country signal an urgent overhaul of South Africa's disaster management system.
In KZN, a woman was killed when her vehicle was swept away by raging waters in Pinetown.
Samantha Meyrick of IPSS Medical Rescue said the woman had been travelling home when her vehicle was washed away.
Her vehicle was spotted near the Stapleton bridge in the early hours of Friday morning.
Other emergency responders reported that several roads were waterlogged, while others had debris strewn across them.
The latest rains came after several people were killed in rains in recent weeks.
Salga is now calling on municipalities, provincial and national disaster teams to enhance preparedness and response efforts.
"The recent disasters in KZN and other parts of the country have exposed critical weaknesses in the country's disaster management system, with inadequate funding for municipalities to implement disaster risk initiatives," said Salga's Mluleki Nkosi.
He said there is also poor coordination and communication between local, provincial and national stakeholders, limited community involvement in disaster preparedness efforts, outdated forecasting models that hinder early warning systems and insufficient monitoring and response capabilities, leaving municipalities overwhelmed.
Nkosi called for a proactive approach in tackling these disasters.
"Our current disaster management system is reactionary; we respond to disasters only after they occur. We must urgently transition to a proactive model that mitigates the impact of disasters through preparation, risk reduction, and early response mechanisms," he added.
Nkosi said South Africa cannot afford to react to disasters, it must build a resilient, well-coordinated, and future-ready disaster management system that safeguards communities before disaster strikes.
Earlier this month, eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba said the City is working on measures to bolster infrastructure following the devastation.
Xaba said the City's stormwater systems are designed to cope with a one-in-10-year storm event flow at critical points.
However, the floods in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023 were greater than the 1:100-year flood in certain parts of Durban.
The mayor explained that in other areas, the flooding events in 2024 and early 2025 have also exceeded the 1:20 to 1:40-year mark, meaning that the frequency and intensity of the floods has become unpredictable.
He said that while cities cannot afford to construct infrastructure to cope with every eventuality related to flooding, eThekwini is looking at other measures like the early warning system and risk mitigation.