Is higher rainfall and more floods the new normal in KwaZulu-Natal? While near-record rains in parts of the province may be ascribed to seasonal weather fluctuations, science holds a more austere view - that 12 disruptive floods over the past nine years represents a trend that is intensifying as the forces of climate change gather pace.

Heavy rains in the catchment of KwaZulu-Natal's east-flowing rivers continue to cause extensive flooding in the greater Durban area, mostly to the detriment of vulnerable households unprepared for the disaster.

The bad news is that disruptive flooding is now a seasonal reality, and that communities need to be supported to build resilience to deal with these events. So says climate change expert Professor Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi, a climate change, food systems and health professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and director of the Institute for Natural Resources with first-hand experience of the recent KZN floods.

"The March 2025 floods are the 12th in a series of events dating from July 2016," he says. "Climate change is here to stay, and we need to adapt urgently."

Mabhaudhi acknowledges that not all flooding events can be blamed on climate change due to a dearth of attribution studies.

"We know, however, that a warmer climate means more energy and moisture in the atmosphere, which means heavier rainfall in certain areas."

Of concern to Mabhaudhi are the below-the-radar consequences that linger long after the event.

"The dramatic sight of collapsed infrastructure and demolished buildings dominate attention at the expense of disrupted...