10 February 2023
|
Story Edzani Nephalela
|
Photo FVH Productions
Professor Francois Engelbrecht, a Climatology professor and Director of the Global Change Institute at Wits University, believes South Africans should have more effective systems and strategies in place to prepare for natural disasters caused by climate change impacts.
South Africa must establish reliable early-warning systems and strengthen disaster management facilities to be better prepared for natural disasters on the scale of the April 2022 Durban floods. This was the advice of one of the participants at the
fifth National Global Change Conference (GCC5) hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS) from 30 January to 2 February 2023.
The GCC5 saw experts from across South Africa come together at the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus to discuss the impacts of climate change on communities and devise strategies to mitigate its effects. The conference is organised every two years by the
Department of Science and Innovation and the
National Research Foundation.
The severe 2022 Durban floods were a prominent discussion topic, as they highlighted the urgency of climate change and its effects in South Africa and stirred debate on the need for proactive measures to prevent similar disasters in the future. The heavy rainfall from 11 to 13 April 2022 caused rivers to overflow in low-lying flood areas. The downpours quickly overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure, leaving thousands without housing, electricity, and other essentials. The national government declared a state of emergency and deployed rescue teams to assist those affected by the floods.
Prof Francois Engelbrecht, a Climatology Professor and Director of the
Global Change Institute at
Wits University, told delegates that better preparation for disasters like these should have been in place. “What occurred in KwaZulu-Natal should not have taken us by surprise, as it resembles [the KwaZulu-Natal floods of] September 1987, when over 50 000 people were displaced, and at least 500 lost their lives. To avoid a similar outcome in the future, we must establish effective community-based warning systems and implement an effective disaster-management plan.”
Charlotte McBride, Assistant Manager at the
South African Weather Service, said, “A cut-off low in the upper reaches of the troposphere was moving seawards off the eastern coast of South Africa. Cut-off lows are associated with widespread instability in the atmosphere, which can promote periods of prolonged rainfall.”
McBride also emphasised the importance of developing effective coping strategies in light of these events and forecasts, including the implementation of systems that empower traditional leaders and ward committees by using early-warning systems.