We need to prepare now for more climate crises

Devastating. Calamitous. Tragic. Words alone are inadequate to describe the scale of the horror experienced in KwaZulu-Natal this week. With more than 400 people dead, dozens still missing and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed, the floods of 2022 will go down in history as one of SA’s worst natural disasters.

All of SA will be united in expressing sympathy with the families of the victims, and trust that the rescue and recovery efforts will bring some relief to those who have suffered. For a province that endured the worst of last year’s riots and mayhem, the latest catastrophe will come as a double blow.

Rainfall records have been obliterated, just three years after floods on a similar scale wreaked havoc in the province. If one is to believe the experts in these matters, several factors are at play and must be attended to with urgency and rigour.

While accepting that the region is in the grip of a La Nina weather phenomenon that brings higher than normal rainfall, the reality of climate change is also a factor that presages generally higher rainfall and natural disasters.

Which means there are two important conclusions to be reached: the first is that infrastructure planning has to take account of the climate danger; and second, that what infrastructure there is to mitigate flooding is constantly upgraded and kept in working order.

As the experts have warned throughout the week, municipalities are neglecting to do their duty by failing to provide and maintain vital infrastructure, not the least being city drainage networks. Too often, local governments are failing to invest in infrastructure, the benefits of which will only be realised some years down the line.

Possibly, there is a need for a natural disaster management capacity at national level that can be given the powers to ensure minimum norms and standards are adhered to in terms of how new infrastructural developments and maintenance are aligned with climate-change realities, as well as enabling a rapid response in times of calamity.

Government at local, provincial and national level will have to refocus its efforts to take into account this threat, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

The next episode of torrential rains, driven by climate change, will be with us in the not-too-distant future. Let’s hope that the suffering and devastation that SA experienced this week is not all in vain, and that from disaster a new and urgent recognition of the dangers that face us will emerge.