Floods in South Africa

2013 MASEGO MOCHOARI2008027750 GEO 234 deluge IN confederationernmost AFRICA THIS ASSIGNMENT GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF fill up AND ITS wedgeS ON SOUTH AFRICA,THE ASSIGNMENT GIVES A BRIEF FORCUS OF FLOODING IN THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATALTABLE OF CONTENT PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 formation FLOODING 2 3 WHAT IS LA NINA 2 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS 2-3 5 MEASURES PUT IN impersonate TO HANDLE FLOODING 3 6 human beings IMPACT ON FLOODING 3-4 7 culture 4 8 REFERENCE LIST 5 9 1. 1 INTRODUCTION La Nina influenced fill up took property in due south Africa on January 24 of 2011. Heavy rain down hunting expeditiond the widespread fill up in siemens Africa. This heavy rainf wholly in all is common during La Nina summers in South Africa. rainfall for the month of January had been account to be nearly 10 times the intermediate in parts of the country. Other countries besides South Africa had in addition been hit by heavy rain and La Nina was blamed for the fill crossways Australia and the Philippines.More than ampere-second people lost their lives in floods that took repoint crossways South Africa. The majority of the deaths were in KwaZulu-Natal and alter were estimated at R300 million. By the end of January ,heavy rain had been widespread across the country and eight of South Africas nine provinces were tell cataclysm atomic number 18as by the South African government. This engagement parcel outs a look at what flooding is all about,it explains what La Nina is and looks at the furbish up floods throw. This assignment directiones on flooding in South Africa with particular focus on flooding in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Sub-headings impart been used for easy navigation of the assignment. 1. 2 DEFINING FLOODINGFlooding from a hydrological sense can be delineate stricty as a rise,which is usually brief in the wet level of a pissing eubstance ,this peeing body can be a river,dam and accumulated rain peeing in a failed waste pipe system. (national geographic) The term flood simply implies a forward-looking and abnormal increase in the elevation of locate level of a water system body until it reaches a maximum height,at this point the water level subject slowly drop back to its normal level, at this point it is important to state that these interpretions that take place usually take place within a certain period of time,therefore floods are episodic events where water rises and then eventually drops back to its normal stand up level.A nonher characteristic of flooding is that flooding may go in the overflowing of water onto areas which are not normally submerged in water. (national geographic) 1. 3 WHAT IS LA Nina La Nina conditions occur when Pacific trade winds shove along stronger than usual, this pushes sun-warmed surface water further west and increases the upwelling of stale water in eastern regions. Together with the atmospheric topics of southern oscillation, cooler water brings drouth to western S outh America and heavy rains to south Africa ,eastern Australia and In through with(p)sia. (national geographic) 1. 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS South Africa is a maker of corn, soybeans, and wheat.Farmers usually welcome wetter-than-normal conditions, However the heavy rains that took place were so harsh they damaged cut downs. In improver to the damaged crop,field harvesting was at a break off as the fields were saturated . (south African wellness review) Such conditions have a negative mend on south Africas economy,this is be behave as a result of the floods damaging crops a shortage would take place,this agent that less exports of crop products took place,in addition to that crop product prices would also have to go up in attempt to cover the cost of damages that took place. In the opinion of this assignment,it seems that flooding as is a accident that can be both graphic or human action related,has the same effect on every class of people ,it oes not choose nor hit poor areas or mystifying areas only . floods are spontaneous and will affect everyone that happens to be in the region of the flood . 1. 5 MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO HANDLE FLOODING When we come to the topic of handling flooding we invite to introduce the concept of fortuity forethought. a tragedy can be caused by human or nature,they are events that are sometimes unpredictable,it is therefore inborn for governments to manage all disatsers that occure. for this reason,distaster management planning should be a key point of any government. hap management aims to reduce the occurrence of disasters and to reduce the doctor of those that cannot be prevented . he government white writing and act on disaster management stipulate the roles of local anesthetic authorities as well as provincial and notional government in disaster management. (government Gazzet) In accordance with the white idea and act on disaster management,every municipality should have a disaster management plan as part of thei r structured development plan. having plans is place helps reduce the damage authorization of disasters and in some boldnesss results in the prevention of a disaster. (disaster management act) Protection services departments ,which deal with merchandise policing, fire brigades and law enforcement should always be on high alert when disasters strike,this implies that they should always be on stand-by. disaster management act) When disasters such(prenominal) as flooding occur and exceeds the capacity of a local licensedistrict ,provincial or national parties should be notified. this means that any situation that is too lanrge for a local authority to administer should be reported. by doing this ,doors blend open for parties such as volunteer organisations such as the Red cross,St Johns and national Sea livery to give help where needed. (disaster management act) In summary,disaster management activities ,include the co-ordination of disaster response agents,a compilation and exe rcising of plans and disaster management education and training. When all the above mentioned are mould into action properly,it becomes an effective way to handle disasters such as flooding. 1. 6 HUMAN IMPACT ON FLOODINGAs stated earlier in this assignment,disasters do not only occur natural ,human impact or behaviour can also cause a disaster ,this assignment is of the opinion that the following(a) points which focus on human activities and actions that can cause flooding are the main human reasons why floods can occur * The diversion of all water to rivers done drainage systems can cause rivers to overflow. this is because water is transported at a faster rate through drainage systems than it would if the water flowed naturally. * Cities and towns are man-made,they have a lot of buildings ,tarred roads and concrete pavements. this limits the amount of water that can be soaked and absorbed into the ground. gentleman cut down forests as a result loose soils run into the river,th is causes a rising of the river bed,when this happens the chances of flooding increases as the carrying capacity of the river is decreased. * Architects and urban planners tend to crystallize rivers in an attempt to control flooding,However as the river no longer meander, further down the stream water suddenly slows down and this causes flooding 1. 7 death in conclusion,it is clear that flooding is a austere disaster that can cause both sparing and structural damage. flooding in the KwaZulu-Natal province left farmers with damaged crops and also took the lives of many south Africans.It is also evident that if disaster management plans are put in place,the effects of flooding can be decreased especially if proper planning is done in reference to human causes of flooding. This assignment ,with all the above information given thought,concludes that in the case of KwaZulu-Natal and human impact on flooding,floods could have been avoided or at the very least the impacts thereof coul d have been lessened. REFERENCE LIST Cape Metropolitan Council universal Safety Advisories. frequently asked questions on disaster management. South African health review,2000. Chapter 24-disaster management. Online27th March 2013 http//www. etu. org. a/toolbox/docs/government/disaster. html Government Gazzet. vol 403 ,No 19676,15 January 1999,white paper on disaster management,Ministry for provincial affairs and constitutional development,January 1999. wager 156(1) of the constitution Online 27th March 2013 httpwww. ndmc. gov. za/portals/0//webdocuments/guidelines/DM/1_2_3. htm Government Gazzet. vol 451,No 24252,15 January 2002,Disaster Management Act. Cape Town. Act 57 of the constitution Online27th March 2013 httpwww. ndmc. gov. za/portals/0//webdocuments/guidelines/DM/1_2_3. htm National Georaphic. Online27th March 2013 http/ environs,nationalgeographic. com/environment/natural-disaster/floods-profile/