AfriForum guide: Tackle the rainy season like this when floods threaten
The national state of disaster that was announced following the recent severe weather conditions, which resulted in rain, floods, strong winds and hail in October, highlighted the fact that most municipalities in the affected areas did not have contingency plans in place to properly deal with the disasters. This left thousands of communities defenceless against the elements – something that AfriForum will not allow to happen again.
With the increase in extreme weather conditions, AfriForum has made a free guide available to ready communities for the impact of the rainy season. It outlines what communities must do to stay safe during a flood, what survival steps must be followed and what’s important to remember after the flood.
“It’s important that communities and households know what to do before, during and after a flood and this guide contains all the elements to ensure that they and their loved ones escape a natural disaster safely,” says Tarien Cooks, Disaster Management Specialist for AfriForum.
The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga have recently experienced severe weather conditions which have caused damage to infrastructure, properties and the environment. The national state of disaster enables the government to allocate emergency funds for relief efforts and reconstruction.
Cooks points out that climate change is having a noticeable impact on South Africa’s weather patterns, which increases the risk of intense rain and floods. In the past few years, the effects of climate change have been felt more and more, with abnormal rainfall and extremely hot conditions in places.
“These changes contribute to the intensity and frequency of possible floods, which can have a devastating impact on communities and infrastructure. More training should be done, and even more awareness should be created in communities to draw up contingency plans in order to mitigate the impact of a disaster,” she adds.
