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#GlobalChangeConference: Is South Africa well prepared for natural disasters?

10 February 2023 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo FVH Productions

Prof F Engelbrecht — 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.

News Archive

Ford foundation funds higher education redesign

2005-06-23

The Ford Foundation has pledged a grant of almost R280 000 for redesigning higher education delivery at three campuses in the Free State.

According to Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the University of the Free State (UFS), the three campuses that will be affected by the strategic reconfiguration of higher education delivery are the Qwaqwa campus at Phuthaditjhaba and the Vista campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein and the Welkom campus of the Central University of Technology (CUT).

Prof Fourie says the three campuses were all affected by the restructuring of higher education, in line with the National Plan for Higher Education.

The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS that was part of the former University of the North was incorporated into the UFS in January 2003. Likewise the Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University was incorporated into the UFS in January 2004.

The Welkom campus of the CUT was also part of the former Vista University and was incorporated into the CUT in January 2004.

“These incorporations pose a challenge in that we have to think creatively about the best ways of using these three campuses to service the higher education, training, skills development and human resource needs of the Free State,” Prof Fourie said.

“The grant from the Ford Foundation will primarily be used to draw up strategic funding proposals for the three campuses. The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS is a priority to us given the poverty and unemployment in a largely rural area of the Free State,” said Prof Fourie.

“A detailed consultation process will be undertaken in the Qwaqwa campus sub-region which will hopefully result in a comprehensive and a coherent suite of higher education activities being established on this campus,” said Prof Fourie.

“It is envisaged that the Qwaqwa campus will become a centre of excellence in the area of rural development. This vision is based on a focused integration of the core functions of a university – teaching, research, and community service – around the issue of rural development,” said Prof Fourie.

Prof Fourie said that various educational offerings including among others short courses, bridging and foundation programmes, and degrees could be offered, with a particular focus on providing courses of relevance to students from the local rural community and students from elsewhere with an interest in focusing on rural development studies.

She said the redesign of the three affected campuses is being managed as a project of the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) consisting of all the higher education institutions operating in the Free State.

“The aim of the project is to establish how the Qwaqwa and Vista campuses of the UFS and the Welkom campus of the CUT can be used effectively to meet regional education and training needs, to serve the strategic priorities of the two higher education institutions and contribute to the sustainable development and poverty alleviation of the region,” she said.

The planning for the Vista campus of the UFS is still in an early stage. “We are looking at the possibility of developing this campus into a hub of education and training opportunities for Bloemfontein and Free State region. Further plans will be communicated later in the year,” said Prof Fourie.

Media release

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

23 June 2005

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