South Africa: Early Warning Systems On Floods Are Not Enough - Climate Crisis Literacy Saves Lives - Experts

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The extreme rainfall and floods that hit KwaZulu-Natal in April highlight the importance of the relationship between the government and residents.

'If we had told you there was this major flood coming, what would you have done differently?"

This was the question Geoff Tooley, senior manager in the Coastal Stormwater and Catchment Management Department at the eThekwini Municipality, wants to pose to South Africans following the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal in April and May.

The South African Weather Service - the only mandated regulatory body that can issue weather warnings in the country - provides a three-day rainfall forecast to municipalities every 12 hours.

This information goes into eThekwini's Forecast Early Warning System (FEWS), which then runs hydraulic models, says Tooley. The system highlights whether critical points where there is a risk identified by the municipality - such as informal settlements on floodplains, substations prone to flooding and roads that can be overtopped - are likely to be exceeded.

This is shared with the disaster management team which has SMS communication systems with residents and also uses social media to issue localised information on the back of weather service warnings.

The radar and rain and stream gauges are used to...

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