Hlabisa says COGTA working with SAWS to improve early warning systems
Just last month, over 4000 people were displaced in the Eastern Cape following heavy rains and a further 4000 in the Western Cape.
- Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA)
- South African Weather Service (SAWS)
- Eastern Cape floods
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa. Picture: @NationalCoGTA/X
JOHANNESBURG - The Cooperative Governance Department (COGTA) said it was working with the South African Weather Service (SAWS) to improve early warning systems and ensure communities receive timely alerts before disasters strike.
This is part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen disaster readiness, as floods and severe weather events become more frequent and devastating.
In June, over 4,000 people were displaced in the Eastern Cape following heavy rains and a further 4,000 in the Western Cape.
Briefing the media in Sandton on Monday, COGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said that while the country already had the expertise to predict disasters, more must be done to alert people well in advance.
Hlabisa said that the current systems do work with accurate forecasts and warnings issued regularly, but acknowledged that many South Africans still lived on floodplains and other vulnerable locations, making them more exposed to danger.
He said that the focus now was on refining how warnings were communicated and ensuring they reached communities quickly and clearly, so they could take action in time.
"We are in a better space now, as government, of detecting the level in terms of rain, snow. We are reviewing our disaster management system in terms of responding before disaster occurs."
The department said that this collaboration with the weather service formed part of a series of measures, including stricter monitoring of funds and rebuilding plans, to improve the country’s overall disaster response.