It was last heard of in the biblical times when Noah was warned and given adequate time to prepare for a flood that was set to cause mass destruction.
But the numerous warnings from experts about global warming are all the warning we need to brace ourselves for disaster — floods, heatwaves and droughts.
Recently, we have seen horrific floods in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, which have left scores of people dead and homeless, losing livestock and vegetation, and seemingly, our government is always found ill-prepared.
This time, after the catastrophic floods that hit Mpumalanga, leaving about 11 people dead, premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane visited the disaster-stricken areas of Mbombela and Nkomazi, where she said “the violation of spatial laws and the poor infrastructure have worsened the disaster in Mpumalanga”.
While we are accepting that floods are “natural disasters”, Mtshweni-Tsipane’s statement is disturbing, especially when we have government departments whose core tasks are to ensure that something as basic as drainage systems are adequately functioning when heavy rains occur.
It’s even more disturbing to hear there are entire communities that are built without any drainage system at all.
We have seen horrific videos of bridges, which are meant to withhold the toughest of forces, simply disintegrate amid the high flood waters, despite government departments which are mandated to ensure these are properly maintained.
It gets tiring witnessing a government that is always reactionary to disaster instead of ensuring we are well-equipped to deal with the scientifically inevitable ahead of time.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said: “Some of our residents have settled in flood lines, thereby violating spatial laws that regulate land management. This ultimately leads to waterlogged houses, displacement of families and fatalities. We must intensify the enforcement of municipal bylaws to prevent similar tragedies in the future.”
Again, we are talking about things that should be done, when the question is what has been done to ensure these laws are adhered to before these disasters strike?
It gets tiring witnessing a government that is always reactionary to disaster instead of ensuring we are well-equipped to deal with the scientifically inevitable ahead of time.
Mtshweni-Tsipane spoke about people perching their homes dangerously close to riverbanks, but these informal settlements do not just mushroom the day before a disaster.
This means there is failure from government departments meant to be enforcing and policing these laws.
Several years ago, when a similar situation unfolded and people who were living near the Jukskei river in Johannesburg were questioned about why they continuously returned to build near the forever swelling river bank, some answered they did not have a choice as registration for RDP housing had yielded no fruit — another failure from government.
What is of concern, though, is whether the tough questions are being asked in those government meetings and whether accountability for government being caught “with its pants down” in times of disaster ever happens.
More than 400 died in the floods that hit KZN in April last year. Four hundred.
While our contribution to preventing natural disasters is limited, our action in preventing loss of life as a result of natural disasters isn’t.
Gladly accepting condolences from government about deaths that occur as a result of natural disasters should not be accepted, without asking the tough questions of what could have been done differently to prevent such in future.
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