RSA – Damage assessment under way in fire ravaged areas
Damage assessment under way in fire ravaged areas
29 July 2007
published by www.sabcnews.com
Damage assessment is under way in many parts of the country ravaged by fire. Fire fighters were battling veld and forest fires in Mpumalanga, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape yesterday.
It is not clear yet how many human deaths there have been. Huge losses of livestock and other animals have been reported. The KwaZulu-Natal department of agriculture says it has sent a team of veterinary experts to assess the damage caused by widespread fires in the Zululand and Uthungulu municipalities.
Mbulelo Baloyi, a department spokesperson, said: “ We have dispatched our officials from those district municipalities to go and assess the situation on the ground We have found that a number of communal farmers have lost their livestock and have sent personnel from veterinary services to go and check the state of animals, particularly those that were burnt in the fire. We have to perform emergency slaughtering of those animals in distress so that we can minimise pain.”
