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Heavy rains and strong winds cause flooding, waterlogged roads on the Cape Flats and informal settlements in the Western Cape on June 28 2021. Picture: ESA ALEXANDER/SUNDAY TIMES
The country has experienced heavy rains in recent months, which resulted in unfortunate incidents of flooding.
We have witnessed the misery and suffering of communities whose households were destroyed or washed away, and lives were also lost due to the floods. This added more sorrow to the vulnerable communities that are still battling to cope with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The affected communities also include informal settlements, and people are desperately looking for shelter. Even with that in mind, it is wrong for people to erect shelters in areas the municipality has demarcated or reserved to discharge flood waters.
It is also illegal to erect structures on weirs belonging to the department of water & sanitation. A weir is meant to allow for overflow when a dam reaches its full capacity.
Building on land prone to flooding, or meant to mitigate such a flood, is high risk because climate-related disasters are incidents that happen inadvertently. Therefore, it is important that we look back at what happened during the flooding and refrain from committing the same error of illegally building structures on either the flood base or dam weirs.
Some informal settlements have been built on wetlands, causing interference with nature and the health of river systems. This too is illegal, irrational and irresponsible. These challenges can be mitigated through improved management of infrastructure by the municipalities, especially storm water drains, as well as enforcing bylaws relating to illegal settlements on municipal land.
In most cases, residents of these flood-prone areas are among the poorest and most vulnerable. It is therefore advisable for people wanting to erect settlement structures to first check with their municipalities regarding the legality or feasibility of the land they want to occupy prior to them settling there.
Marcus Monyakeni Department of water & sanitation spokesperson
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Flood-prone areas should be avoided
The country has experienced heavy rains in recent months, which resulted in unfortunate incidents of flooding.
We have witnessed the misery and suffering of communities whose households were destroyed or washed away, and lives were also lost due to the floods. This added more sorrow to the vulnerable communities that are still battling to cope with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The affected communities also include informal settlements, and people are desperately looking for shelter. Even with that in mind, it is wrong for people to erect shelters in areas the municipality has demarcated or reserved to discharge flood waters.
It is also illegal to erect structures on weirs belonging to the department of water & sanitation. A weir is meant to allow for overflow when a dam reaches its full capacity.
Building on land prone to flooding, or meant to mitigate such a flood, is high risk because climate-related disasters are incidents that happen inadvertently. Therefore, it is important that we look back at what happened during the flooding and refrain from committing the same error of illegally building structures on either the flood base or dam weirs.
Some informal settlements have been built on wetlands, causing interference with nature and the health of river systems. This too is illegal, irrational and irresponsible. These challenges can be mitigated through improved management of infrastructure by the municipalities, especially storm water drains, as well as enforcing bylaws relating to illegal settlements on municipal land.
In most cases, residents of these flood-prone areas are among the poorest and most vulnerable. It is therefore advisable for people wanting to erect settlement structures to first check with their municipalities regarding the legality or feasibility of the land they want to occupy prior to them settling there.
Marcus Monyakeni
Department of water & sanitation spokesperson
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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