CHALLENGES OF FLOODS IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS Presented by: Amelius Muller 19 April 2005

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CHALLENGES OF FLOODS IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTSPresent
ed by Amelius Muller19 April 2005
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FRAMEWORK

• Forces of Nature
• Risk Reduction Measures
• Challenges

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THE FORCES OF NATURE

• Fire
• Floods
• Winds
• Earth Quakes
• have had devastating effects on humans and
  human development in the past
• and
• it will happen again and again.
• Can this be avoided?

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THE FORCES OF NATURE

• Nothing can be done to prevent the natural event
  from occurring
• but
• a lot can and must be done to
• Avoid losses
• Minimise losses
• Do we have the means to do it?

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THE FORCES OF NATURE

• Impact on Human property and development

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THE FORCES OF NATURE

• Impact
• on
• Humans

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THE REALITY

• In an impoverished environment, any number of
  steps we have moved forward in the eradication of
  poverty can be wiped out completely by a single
  fire or flood event

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RISK REDUCTION MEASURES

• What can be avoided and how?
• Mitigating measures
• Do we have the means?

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RISK REDUCTION MEASURES

• What can be avoided and how?
• Mitigating measures
• Do we have the means?

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RISK REDUCTION MEASURES

• What can be avoided and how?
• Mitigating measures
• Do we have the means?
• Yes but we must have the will to put it to good
  use

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WHY THE TENDENCY TO DEVELOP CLOSE TO RIVERS?

• RICH DAD
• Tranquility
• Scenic Beauty
• Investment

• POOR DAD
• Drinking water
• Washing
• Availability

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THE CHALLENGE TO BE PRO-ACTIVE

• What does the law lay down?
• National Water Act, Article 144
• Municipal bylaws
• National Disaster Act
• Only for new developments

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NATIONAL WATER ACT Act No 36 of 1998

• 144. For the purposes of ensuring that all
  persons who might be affected have access to
  information regarding potential flood hazards, no
  person may establish a township unless the layout
  plan shows, in a form acceptable to the local
  authority concerned, lines indicating the maximum
  level likely to be reached by floodwaters on
  average once in every 100 years.

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THE CHALLENGE OF FUNDING

• National Disaster Management Structure
• National Disaster Management Fund
• but .
• Procedures must be streamlined

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THE CHALLENGE TO DEFINE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• National Government
• Sector Leader
• Disaster Management Plan
• Integrated Development Plan
• Provincial Government
• Local Government

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TECHNICAL CHALLENGE

• Structural Measures
• Flood absorption dams
• Development of flood plains
• Active Flood Warning Systems
• Examples of existing systems
• Constraints
• Community River Watch Systems

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THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE

• Alternative Accommodation Infrastructure
• Monitoring to keep evacuated areas open
• Develop evacuated areas without delay for
  instance into recreational areas
• Education information
• Involvement of political leaders
• Involvement of community leaders

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MAIN CHALLENGE

• To what extent have we, in South Africa, met the
  objectives set by the United Nations General
  Assembly in 1989 when they declared the period
  1990 to 2000 as the
• International Decade of Natural Disaster
  Reduction (IDNDR)?

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OBJECTIVES OF THE IDNDR
By the year 2000 all countries, as part of their
plan to achieve sustainable development, should

• have in place comprehensive national assessments
  of risks from natural hazards, integrated into
  development plans
• Mitigation Plans at national and / or local
  levels that address long term prevention
• Preparedness and community awareness
• Ready access to global, regional, national and
  local warning systems.

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