Twelve "significant" disaster events between March 2003 and November 2008 have cost the province more than R2.6-billion in damage, and affected tens of thousands of people.
Most of these were caused by severe weather, but they also included the xenophobic attacks of May 2008.
This is according to the findings of a new study that is a collaborative work by UCT researchers for the provincial Department of Local Government's disaster management centre.
The worst disaster in terms of monetary cost was the severe weather event of November 2007, when a cut-off low swept through the Cape Winelands, Overberg, Central Karoo and Eden municipal districts, causing direct damage of R830.9-million (adjusted for inflation to 2005 values).
There were two deaths, and more than 300 people were evacuated or provided with relief during this event.
But the worst in terms of human cost was the xenophobia, or "social violence", that broke out in May 2008 in the City of Cape Town and Eden district municipalities, where between 20,000 and 22,000 people were displaced.
According to the researchers, the attacks caused between two and four deaths, and cost about R200m.
Also of major human cost was the severe weather event of August 2004, when two large cold fronts, preceded by gale-force winds and a severe rain storm, swept through Cape Town, adversely affecting about 20 000 residents of informal settlements.
The March 2003 disaster caused by a cut-off low pressure weather system resulted in three deaths in Hermanus and Knysna.
The second biggest disaster in terms of direct damage was the R791m cost caused by a cut-off low in November 2008 that inundated parts of the Overberg, Cape Winelands and Eden districts.
These figures are found in the "Radar" 2010 report (Radar is an acronym for Risk and Development Annual Review) that was released yesterday by Local Government MEC Anton Bredell, to coincide with the annual disaster risk seminar at UWC.
The report was developed for Bredell's department by the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme at UCT, where 35 researchers and post-graduate students also collaborated with the national Department of Co-operative Governance, the National Disaster Management Centre and the Cape Higher Education Consortium, among others.
Two major disasters in the province - the 1981 Laingsburg floods, which claimed more than 100 lives, and the "Manenberg tornado", which left 5,000 people homeless - fell outside the review period.
Bredell said the report was the first of its kind to detail disaster events and critical risk-reduction issues in the province, and that it provided insight into the complexity of managing risks.
"I'm hoping this publication will emphasise the importance of investing in the proactive side of disaster management, like research |and awareness campaigns," he said.
Some of the key lessons of the report included shedding light on economic losses incurred.
These losses provided an incentive for proactive risk reduction, which could reduce future financial losses.
It was also necessary to adopt a proactive approach to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
"This is an excellent example of pioneering work, and sets the trend for enhancing all aspects of disaster risk reduction initiatives in South Africa," Bredell said.
"This initiative foresees a phased collaborative process from 2009 to 2012 that progressively engages the province's higher education institutions in disaster risk reduction."
This first edition of the Radar report focused on the province's changing risk profile, with emphasis on severe weather events and their consequences, and linked it to climate change.
- Cape Argus
Most of these were caused by severe weather, but they also included the xenophobic attacks of May 2008.
This is according to the findings of a new study that is a collaborative work by UCT researchers for the provincial Department of Local Government's disaster management centre.
The worst disaster in terms of monetary cost was the severe weather event of November 2007, when a cut-off low swept through the Cape Winelands, Overberg, Central Karoo and Eden municipal districts, causing direct damage of R830.9-million (adjusted for inflation to 2005 values).
There were two deaths, and more than 300 people were evacuated or provided with relief during this event.
But the worst in terms of human cost was the xenophobia, or "social violence", that broke out in May 2008 in the City of Cape Town and Eden district municipalities, where between 20,000 and 22,000 people were displaced.
According to the researchers, the attacks caused between two and four deaths, and cost about R200m.
Also of major human cost was the severe weather event of August 2004, when two large cold fronts, preceded by gale-force winds and a severe rain storm, swept through Cape Town, adversely affecting about 20 000 residents of informal settlements.
The March 2003 disaster caused by a cut-off low pressure weather system resulted in three deaths in Hermanus and Knysna.
The second biggest disaster in terms of direct damage was the R791m cost caused by a cut-off low in November 2008 that inundated parts of the Overberg, Cape Winelands and Eden districts.
These figures are found in the "Radar" 2010 report (Radar is an acronym for Risk and Development Annual Review) that was released yesterday by Local Government MEC Anton Bredell, to coincide with the annual disaster risk seminar at UWC.
The report was developed for Bredell's department by the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme at UCT, where 35 researchers and post-graduate students also collaborated with the national Department of Co-operative Governance, the National Disaster Management Centre and the Cape Higher Education Consortium, among others.
Two major disasters in the province - the 1981 Laingsburg floods, which claimed more than 100 lives, and the "Manenberg tornado", which left 5,000 people homeless - fell outside the review period.
Bredell said the report was the first of its kind to detail disaster events and critical risk-reduction issues in the province, and that it provided insight into the complexity of managing risks.
"I'm hoping this publication will emphasise the importance of investing in the proactive side of disaster management, like research |and awareness campaigns," he said.
Some of the key lessons of the report included shedding light on economic losses incurred.
These losses provided an incentive for proactive risk reduction, which could reduce future financial losses.
It was also necessary to adopt a proactive approach to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
"This is an excellent example of pioneering work, and sets the trend for enhancing all aspects of disaster risk reduction initiatives in South Africa," Bredell said.
"This initiative foresees a phased collaborative process from 2009 to 2012 that progressively engages the province's higher education institutions in disaster risk reduction."
This first edition of the Radar report focused on the province's changing risk profile, with emphasis on severe weather events and their consequences, and linked it to climate change.
- Cape Argus
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