s 43 Board may act in cases of emergency
43.—(1) Where the Board considers it necessary in the case of an emergency, the Board may direct the immediate execution of any work or the doing of any act being any work or act authorised under this Act which is in its opinion necessary for the service and safety of the public.[Act 38 of 2024 wef 01/03/2025] (1A) Without affecting subsection (1), and despite anything in section 44, where at any time the Board has reason to believe that there is an impending high sea level event and action must be immediately taken to protect against coastal flooding at or through any prescribed place, the Board may immediately and without notice enter one or more of the following:(a) the prescribed place; (b) any premises owned by an owner of the prescribed place that are adjacent to, or are part of a row of premises (all of which are so owned) leading to, the prescribed place, and carry out any work or do any act for that purpose, including any of the following: (c) putting a coastal protection measure in place for the prescribed place (even if one is already in place for the prescribed place); (d) expanding a coastal protection measure (even if the expansion is not required under any code of practice under section 32); (e) maintaining or repairing a coastal protection measure, or sealing, blocking or otherwise covering up any breach in a coastal protection measure to protect against coastal flooding; (f) operating or deploying any component of a coastal protection measure.[Act 8 of 2026 wef 29/05/2026] (1B) Where the Board enters any premises under subsection (1A), an authorised officer may effect the entry, with any assistance that he or she considers necessary, by breaking open any door, window, lock, fastener, floor, wall, ceiling, compartment, box, container or any other thing.[Act 8 of 2026 wef 29/05/2026] (2) Despite anything in section 44, where the Board has reason to believe that any public sewerage system or stormwater drainage system, or any part thereof, is damaged or obstructed, the Board may immediately and without notice enter any premises and carry out, or direct the immediate execution of, any work or the doing of any act to repair the public sewerage system or stormwater drainage system, or the part thereof, or remove the obstruction, which is in the opinion of the Board necessary for the service or safety of the public.[Act 38 of 2024 wef 01/03/2025] (3) Where the Board carries out any work or does any act under subsection (1A) or (2), the Board may do so with any assistants and workmen that are necessary for the purpose.[Act 8 of 2026 wef 29/05/2026] (4) Without affecting section 50, the Board may, as it thinks just, recover the costs and expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in carrying out any work or doing any act under subsection (1A) as follows:(a) recover the costs and expenses from the owner of the prescribed place; (b) if there is more than one owner —(i) recover the costs and expenses from any of the owners; or (ii) apportion such costs and expenses among all or any of the owners and recover the sums apportioned from the respective owners.[Act 8 of 2026 wef 29/05/2026]