As flood events become more frequent and severe, South Africa will need to lift its game in disaster management to become more resilient.
This means not just better maintenance of infrastructure, but the building of the necessary expertise and resource base to recover more quickly from flood damage. According to Andries Fourie, Senior Technologist in disaster and risk management at there is a danger of entering a downward spiral from natural disasters.
“We can already see how countries in our region are regularly subject to cyclone events, and struggle to rebuild what has been lost,” said Fourie. “Even before they can recover from one devasting flood or cyclone, another will arrive and set them back even further.”
The recent flooding in KwaZulu-Natal province – after unprecedented rainfall levels – has placed huge demands on disaster management agencies at municipal, provincial and national level. With climate change driving more variable weather patterns, the risk of similar events in future is growing, he warned.
“We need to understand the dangers of compounded and complex disasters, where there are multiple impacts at the same time – each needing to be quickly addressed and then mitigated in future,” he said. “Floods can cause immediate damage which leads to displaced people forced from their homes, for instance; but soon there could be a health crisis as lack of sanitation can lead to the rapid spread of water-borne diseases.
Unrelated consequences of flooding
Beyond the direct and indirect consequences of flooding could be an unrelated event such as a pandemic, which needs to be addressed simultaneously. Dr Herman Booysen, principal geographic information scientist at SRK Consulting, highlighted the importance of properly implementing existing policies and frameworks as a vital pillar of building resilience.
“Much of a municipality’s disaster risk reduction is done through the Integrated Development Plan and the Spatial Development Framework,” Booysen pointed out. “These can provide the necessary guidelines and specifications for flood lines and floodwalls for new developments, for example. Where these frameworks are not competently prepared and fully implemented, the community becomes exposed to significant disaster risk.”
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