scholarly journals The December 2004-January 2005 floods in the Garden Route region of the Southern Cape, South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Tempelhoff ◽  
Dewald Van Niekerk ◽  
Elize Van Eeden ◽  
Ina Gouws ◽  
Karin Botha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Infrastructure Maintenance

The December 2004-January 2005 floods in the Garden Route region of the Southern Cape in South Africa have had a significant impact on local development and economic activities, tourism products andlocal institutions. This article aims to capture the dynamism between a number of related fields within the context of transdisciplinary research. Qualitative research methods were used to target a representative sample of the affected population. This article considers the history of the flooding events of December 2004/January 2005 along the Garden Route, as well as the manner in which emergency/disaster management personnel responded to the crisis. The effect of the floods on the tourism sector along the Garden Route was researched in general and the effects of the floods on tourists, local residents, and particularly communities in disadvantaged areas were specifically determined. The research reflects on the disaster risk management strategies that were in place at the time of the floods to determine what local authorities could have done to cope with the potential conditions of crisis. The research found that although some tourism products were severely affected, the 2004/2005 floods did not have a significant impact on the number of tourists frequenting the area. In terms of disaster risk management, concerns remain regarding the lack of the following factors: capacity, adequate early warning systems, proper infrastructure maintenance, local institutions, and an in-depth understanding of the disaster risk profile of the area.

Smart and Resilient Cities: Best Practices from Disaster Risk Management Strategies

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-200
Author(s):  
Hiroko Kudo ◽  
Antonio D’Andreamatteo ◽  
Massimo Sargiacomo ◽  
Carlo Vermiglio ◽  
Vincenzo Zarone
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Risk Management Strategies

Barriers to risk reduction: Dontse Yakhe, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Harte ◽  
Merle Sowman ◽  
Peter Hastings ◽  
Iraphne Childs
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Stakeholder Interactions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify hazard risks and factors impeding the implementation of disaster risk management policies and strategies in Dontse Yakhe in Hout Bay, South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach was selected for this research. Interviews were conducted with community leaders and other relevant government and civil society stakeholders. Insights and perceptions of Dontse Yakhe residents were obtained from a focus group interview. Secondary data sources were reviewed and field observations made. Findings – The findings reveal a number of key risks and a complex web of geographical, political, social and environmental factors, and stakeholder interactions, prioritisations and decision making that has created barriers to the implementation of the aims and objectives of disaster risk management policies and strategies in Dontse Yakhe. Originality/value – The contribution of the research is that it provides insight into the complex factors that are stalling development and infrastructure provision, and implementation of risk reduction strategies, in Dontse Yakhe as outlined in disaster risk management policies and strategies, demonstrating a gap between policy rhetoric and practice.

Pathways for Transformation: Disaster Risk Management to Enhance Resilience to Extreme Events

2016 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 1671002 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Gibson ◽  
M. Pelling ◽  
A. Ghosh ◽  
D. Matyas ◽  
A. Siddiqi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
System Level ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Development Trajectories

Disaster risk from extreme events and development are intimately linked. Disaster risk management influences and is affected by local development strategies. Trade-offs made in policy and implementation determine winners and losers on the basis of unequal capacity, susceptibility and hazard exposure. Transformation has been introduced as a concept opening new policy space for fundamental shifts in development trajectories. Though policy neutral, when combined with normative frameworks such as the Sustainable development goals it can open up leverage points for determining development trajectories. There is limited empirical evidence on which to base understanding of transformative disaster risk management policy though some work has been done in sister domains such as climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study asks whether transformation pathways for disaster risk management can be observed, offering an initial qualitative analysis to inform policy development. It is based on five case studies drawn from diverse locations exposed to a range of extreme events, examined through a conceptual framework offering five indicators of transformation to aid analysis: intense interaction between actors; the intervention of external actors; system level change extending beyond efficiency to governance and goals; behavior beyond established coping strategies; and behavior extending beyond established institutions. Core characteristics of transformative pathways for disaster risk reduction are identified, including pathway competition, pathway experimentation, pathway scale effects and pathway lock-in. These characteristics are seen to determine the extent to which the disruption consequent on extreme events leads to either transformatory change or relative stasis. The study concludes that transformative disaster risk management, both intentional and incidental can be observed. It is seen that transformations occur primarily at local level. Where policy level change occurs this generally played out at local level too. The particular insight of the study is to suggest that most often the burden of transformation is carried at the local level through the behavior of individuals, populations and civil society. This observation raises an important question for further work: How can the burden of undertaking transformation be shared across scales?

scholarly journals Preliminary assessment of the gender aspects of disaster vulnerability and loss of human life in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Tandlich ◽  
Tatenda G. Chirenda ◽  
Chandra S.S. Srinivas
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Preliminary Assessment ◽  
Disaster Vulnerability ◽  
Life Expectancy At Birth ◽  
Gender Aspects

South Africa has reached a medium level of human development and has a heterogeneous situation with respect to disaster risk management. In this article, a preliminary assessment of the gender aspects of disaster vulnerability and fatalities is presented. The United Nations, the Health Systems Trust and Statistics South Africa were used as data sources for the following gender-segregated values: the life expectancy at birth, unemployment rates, the human development index values, the maternal mortality rates and the number of deaths from unnatural and non-natural causes. The relevant inequality indices were then calculated and used to draw conclusions regarding the gender aspects of disaster risk management in South Africa. Results of the calculations indicate that between 1980 and 2011 men were 10% more vulnerable with respect to their health status. However, the gender differences have been decreasing in recent years. Access of women to healthcare is decreasing with time, potentially decreasing the recovery potential of whole families. Women are more economically vulnerable than men in South Africa, as they are 16.3% – 33% more likely to be unemployed than men. Educational status of both genders in South Africa is comparable based on literacy and enrolment rates at primary and secondary level. On the other hand, men are five times more likely to suffer fatal injuries during disasters.

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