Floods in South Africa

2013 MASEGO MOCHOARI2008027750 GEO 234 flood IN SOUTH AFRICA THIS ASSIGNMENT GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF FLOODING AND ITS IMPACTS ON SOUTH AFRICA,THE ASSIGNMENT GIVES A drawing FORCUS OF FLOODING IN THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATALTABLE OF CONTENT PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 DEFINING FLOODING 2 3 WHAT IS LA NINA 2 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS 2-3 5 MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO HANDLE FLOODING 3 6 HUMAN IMPACT ON FLOODING 3-4 7 CONCLUSION 4 8 REFERENCE LIST 5 9 1. 1 INTRODUCTION La Nina influenced fill up likewisek place in southeastward Africa on January 24 of 2011. Heavy rain caused the widespread inundate in siemens Africa. This heavy rainf both is common during La Nina summers in sulphur Africa. rainfall for the month of January had been reported to be nearly 10 times the average in parts of the country. Other countries besides South Africa had also been hit by heavy rain and La Nina was blamed for the flooding across Australia and the Philippines.More than 100 people lost their lives in fl oods that took place across South Africa. The majority of the deaths were in KwaZulu-Natal and damages 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 decl ard cataclysm argonas by the South Afri skunk politics. This duty assignment takes a look at what flooding is all about,it explains what La Nina is and looks at the impact floods have. This assignment focuses on flooding in South Africa with particular focus on flooding in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Sub-headings have been used for easy navigation of the assignment. 1. 2 DEFINING FLOODINGFlooding from a hydrological sense abide be defined stricty as a rise,which is usually brief in the piss level of a water body ,this water body can be a river,dam and accumulated rainwater in a failed drainage system. ( study geographic) The term flood simply implies a progressive and abnormal increase in the elevation of surface level of a water body until it reaches a maximum height,at this point the water level will slowly drop covering fire to its normal level, at this point it is important to state that these actions 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 surface level.Another characteristic of flooding is that flooding may result 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 blow stronger than usual, this pushes sun-warmed surface water get along west and increases the upwelling of cold water in eastern pieces. Together with the atmospheric effects of southern oscillation, cooler water brings drought to western South the States and heavy rains to south Africa ,eastern Australia and Indonesia. (national geographic) 1. 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS South Africa is a producer of corn, soybeans, and wheat.Farmers usually welcome wetter-than-normal conditions, However the heavy rains that took place were so harsh they modify places. In addition to the damaged crop,field harvesting was at a halt as the fields were saturated . (south African health review) Such conditions have a negative impact on south Africas economy,this is because as a result of the floods damaging crops a shortage would take place,this means 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 disaster that can be both natural or human action related,has the same effect on every soma of people ,it oes not choose nor hit poor areas or rich 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 w e come to the topic of handling flooding we need to introduce the concept of disaster centering. a disaster can be caused by human or nature,they are events that are sometimes unpredictable,it is therefore essential for government activitys to manage all disatsers that occure. for this reason,distaster management planning should be a key point of any government. Disaster management aims to reduce the occurrence of disasters and to reduce the impact of those that cannot be prevented . he government white paper and act on disaster management define the roles of local authorities as well as barbarian and notional government in disaster management. (government Gazzet) In accordance with the white paper and act on disaster management,every municipality should have a disaster management plan as part of their integrated development plan. having plans is place helps reduce the damage potential of disasters and in some cases results in the prevention of a disaster. (disaster management ac t) Protection service departments ,which deal with traffic 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 much(prenominal) as flooding occur and exceeds the capacity of a local authoritydistrict ,provincial or national parties should be notified. this means that any situation that is too lanrge for a local authority to handle should be reported. by doing this ,doors become open for parties such as volunteer organisations such as the Red cross,St Johns and national Sea rescue to give help where needed. (disaster management act) In summary,disaster management activities ,include the co-ordination of disaster response agents,a compilation and exercising of plans and disaster management education and training. When all the above mentioned are put into action priggishly,it becomes an effective way to handle disasters such as flooding. 1. 6 HUMAN IMPACT ON FLOODINGAs stated preceding 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 points which focus on human activities and actions that can cause flooding are the main human reasons why floods can occur * The warp of all water to rivers through 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. Humans cut down forests as a result loose soils run into the river,this 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 straighten rivers in an attem pt to conquer flooding,However as the river no longer meander, further down the stream water suddenly slows down and this causes flooding 1. 7 CONCLUSION in conclusion,it is clear that flooding is a serious disaster that can cause both economic and structural damage. flooding in the KwaZulu-Natal province left farmers with damaged crops and also took the lives of more 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 could have been lessened. REFERENCE LIST Cape Metropolitan Council Public Safety Advisories. frequently asked questions on disaster management. South African health review,2000. Chapter 24-disaster management. O nlinetwenty-seventh 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. Act 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/environment,nationalgeographic. com/environment/natural-disaster/floods-profile/