4. CURRENT SITUATION IN MANAGING DISASTERS

4.1. Part One: How disasters are dealt with currently by government 4.1.1. Drought 4.1.2. Floods and dam failures 4.1.3. Fire hazards 4.1.4. Bomb explosions and civil unrest 4.1.5. Refugees and displaced people 4.1.6. Epidemics and other health disasters 4.1.7. Earthquakes, dolomite land, nuclear radiation 4.1.8. Aircraft, maritime, road and railway disasters 4.1.9. Hazardous material, pollution, tropical cyclones and tornadoes 4.1.1. Drought With improved understanding of southern hemisphere climate systems, international meteorological services are increasingly able to predict droughts. However, drought warnings will never be perfect, partly because the effects of drought are never uniform, and partly because droughts usually occur over a longer period of time. Forecasting is mainly the task of the Weather Bureau. However, forecasts are also available from international bodies and academic institutions. Government and the private sector both have a role to play in providing forecasts and advice to farmers. It is small farmers who will mainly benefit from government's efforts, since the large scale commercial farm sector has the ability to obtain information elsewhere. For droughts it is expected that the lead agency will be the national Department of Agriculture, which will be the first government body to initiate any preventative and reactive approaches to mitigating the effects of predicted or actual drought. The Department of Agriculture would also provide disaster management support in cases of floods, veld fires, locust outbreaks, hail, windstorms and tornadoes. Drought relief in the past has predominantly been in the form of subsidies to meet the financial losses of the white commercial farming sector and its creditors. Prevention and preparedness Working against drought in the long-term The Department of Agriculture has recognised that in the long-term the reduction of the effects of drought is the best way to mitigate against the negative impacts. Regular droughts are a normal part of the climate in South Africa, where there is exceptionally high variability in rainfall and temperatures associated with the normally dry climate. Droughts cannot be prevented, so the farming community has to accept variability and adapt to it as a normal part of farm management. Recognising that the state cannot continue to bail out farmers like it did in the past with subsidies,more proactive approaches are now being taken or are being proposed for the agricultural sector. In conjunction with this policy drive, the Department of Agriculture is working towards establishing a better way of co-ordinating drought response and relief. A proposal to establish a national drought management centre is being investigated. The Minister of Agriculture has set up a task team to develop a new policy on drought. Under the new policy initiative, government's support for disasters will focus mainly on indirect intervention through the promotion and facilitation of self reliant strategies so that farmers take mitigating action to reduce the effects of drought, both on the environment and on farm incomes. Some of the proactive ways in which the Department of Agriculture is likely to take preventative or proactive measure against drought are: Developing a national drought management plan that involves other national departments, such as the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and also the provincial and local governments. Improving the Early Warning System, through developing close collaboration with the Weather Bureau and monitoring systems established by Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and through constantly improved crop and forage forecasting (see below). Improving and developing a communication and information strategy that is linked with communities, which provides farmers not only with forecasts, but also with farming advice appropriate to the best available forecasts in each province. Investigating and developing financial incentives, such as using taxation mechanisms to encourage farmers and other communities to save after good seasons to provide farm income after poor seasons, and possibly targeting subsidised insurance to emerging farmers. Developing with Department of Water Affairs and Forestry a water demand management strategy for the rural sector. Promoting better land-use management and conservation practices through the extension services in the public and private sector. Where necessary, providing expertise and management capacity for rural public works programmes to ensure that these promote "drought-proofing" and water-harvesting in the rural environment, such as through conservation works or afforestry. Preparing for and responding to drought A wide number of measures are required in response to drought. Typical measures that the Department of Agriculture is taking include: Improving information for early warning. Data that should be collected and disseminated regularly by the Department of Agriculture include: National crop forecasting. This is necessary for good market information for traders, as well as for our partners in the SADC who import South African grain when available. The Department of Agriculture is making adjustments to improve crop information now that the marketing boards no longer exist to provide the information. Forecasts should be presented to the public within statistical probabilities, since they will never be completely accurate. Crop condition and forecasts in former homelands. Crop failures provide warning that incomes will fall in an area, and alert other departments, notably Health, Welfare and Public Works, that nutrition and income support may be necessary. Condition of grazing lands, livestock and the access of livestock to water. Satellite data (greenness indexes, etc) with comparisons from previous years. Similarly, the Departments of Agriculture will gain useful information from other participants in the early warning system, on weather, forecasts (rainfall and temperature, stress days), dam and river levels, etc. Ensuring with the cooperation of Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the SANDF that supplies of water are secured in poorer and deep rural areas before the drought hits. Mobilising other state resources, to cushion or reduce the impact of drought, through: Mobilising the support of provincial and local governments, particularly in the most drought prone areas. Provincial departments of agriculture have the major task in providing appropriate advice to farmers through their extension services. Preparing a communication strategy and advice for farmers and other communities on how to deal with the drought. Mobilising the resources of non-governmental organisations, community-basd organisations and the private sector in assisting with relief efforts, particularly in poorer areas. Coordinating with the emergency services and committees of organised farmers, such as the SA Agricultural Union and the National African Farmers’ Union. Points of debate and key questions Should the Department of Agriculture (or provincial departments of agriculture?) be the lead agent for drought disaster management, and if so, who else should be the other key institutions working with them? What aspects of disaster management should be dealt with by the Department of Agriculture and provincial departments of agriculture, and who should be involved for instance in response, and recovery? What further proactive measures can the Department of Agriculture take? What are the major obstacles to the proposed new approach to drought management by the Ministry of Agriculture? What avenues should be pursued in conveying drought warnings as early as possible? Which people should ensure that all people know the forecasts, and that adequate advice is offered, and distributed widely? Are there institutions and mechanisms already in place that can be used for this, but have not been used adequately in the past, or do we need to create new ones? How best can one utilise civic or community based structures for drought management? What is the best role of district and local councils in this regard? Water management While the national Department of Agriculture is regarded as the national lead agency for drought-related aspects of disaster management, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is the national lead agency for most water-related aspects of disaster management. This may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it is not. The most relevant drought-related field of jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, as far as disaster management is concerned, is rain-fed agriculture. This mostly concerns dry-land crop farming and also extensive stock farming. While these do contain their particular aspects of water management, which are primarily handled by Department of Agriculture, water management has a much broader scope than rain-fed agriculture. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is the national lead agency for this broader water management. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's area of rsponsibility includes, among other things, water resource and infrastructure management to serve the urban sector, the rural domestic sector and also irrigated agriculture at large. South Africa is a relatively arid country - the average rainfall is 40% less than the annual world average rainfall. The rainfall that we do receive is distributed unevenly - some areas receiving most rainfall and others hardly any. In addition, we face growing demands for water from our natural water availability. Given these factors - and the fact that water is essential to sustain all forms of life - water management is a major area of concern as far as disaster management is concerned. Because it takes years, and often decades to plan for and implement water management schemes - both on the supply and the demand side - water management must receive continuous attention. This is especially true during times of relative plenty, when we must make provision for the cyclical periods of water scarcity. These cyclical periods of water scarcity are inevitable in South Africa but their exact timing, intensity and duration are less certain. Examples of water supply schemes are, for instance, the establishment of water retention structures, interbasin transfer schemes, water distribution systems, etc. An example of a water demand management scheme is the establishment of a national water and energy conservation ethic. Experience has proven that it is futile to base water management schemes on the frequencies and intensities of droughts. Droughts, by nature, differ vastly, depending on aspects such as rainfall characteristics, moisture conditions before the drought, etc. It often occurs that the rainfall during a season is adequate to produce bumper crops, but that the run-off generated by these rains does not substantially improve the water situation in our hydrological systems, leading to so-called hydrological drought conditions. In other words, there is enough rain for the crops, but not enough going into our water supply systems, Effective and efficient water management requires a continuous evaluation and re-evaluation of areas of expected water scarcity. It requires that projects are commissioned in good time to limit vulnerability with regard to water. South Africa faces a looming water shortage early in the next century. The only way to address this problem is a continuous focus on balanced water management practices. In this regard the unbalanced water-management legacy left by the pre-1994 government poses major disaster management problems. Some of the major water management problems are the following: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's focus in the past was almost exclusively on the supply side of water management. The supply-side (water availability) focus of water management was limited to specific regions, excluding, for instance, the previous homeland areas. This left vast areas and millions of people without even moderately stabilised water resources and basic supply infrastructures. Even where a degree of basic water-supply infrastructure has been supplied in these previously marginalised communities, the communities have not taken ownership of this infrastructure, for various reasons. This has led to inadequate maintenance and operations practices. The demand-side of water management was left to the second and third tiers of government (province and local), basically without incentives from the national level for these authorities to effect water conservation. All efforts to foster a conservation ethic thus have to start from scratch. Thus although the water availability (supply side) seems quite good in some areas and sectors - mainly the few metropolitan areas - the present water management situation has a number of serious deficiencies that the disaster management fraternity must take note of. It will take many years, even decades, to iron out these problems, but even after that, it is envisaged that the disaster management fraternity will have to stay closely involved with water management. Prevention and preparedness The new Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, established after the 1994 elections, has been exerting itself to address deficiencies in existing water management approaches, in order to effect sustainable water management practices, for instance: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry published a White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation towards the end of 1994, inter alia, describing the endeavours required to bring at least 25 litres of clean water per person per day to the majority of our people at a walking distance of not more than 200 meters; Since 1994 Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, with a mandate from Cabinet, has been actively involved in establishing water supply and sanitation infrastructure in the rural areas. To date water supply infrastructure to serve between one and two million people in the rural areas has been supplied. This excludes work done under the Municipal Infrastructure Programme, which focuses on urban dwellers and which is also going ahead full steam. On the demand-management side, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has various programmes running to further water conservation practices. Very prominent is the "Working for Water Programme" with various thrusts, e.g. the programme to eradicate alien invasive vegetation in water-stressed catchments for which more than 8 000 additional jobs have so far been created. Our Water Law is being revised substantially to afford holistic management of water as an indivisible substance in the whole of the hydrological cycle, and also to effect equity with regard to water availability and its use; The recently passed Water Services Act to identifies the responsibilities of the various tiers of government and other role-players with regard to the provision of water and sanitation services. This will streamline the functioning of the complex hierarchy of institutions involved with water management, also with regard to emergency measures and water restrictions. Responding to water shortages In terms of the Constitution, water supply and sanitation are primary functions of local authorities. These authorities must therefore take ownership of their water supply systems and channel adequate means towards their operation and maintenance. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has a regional office in each of the nine provinces, which can assist local authorities and relevant institutions if they should encounter serious water management problems. It is essential, however, that partnerships be developed in the water management field. It is trusted that the provincial disaster management focal points will largely contribute towards these endeavours, guided by the proposed National disaster management Centre. Green Paper on Disater Management Index | Section-4 Index | Top of page 4.1.2 Floods and Dam Failures Floods are natural phenomena that occur at irregular intervals anywhere in our drainage system of rivers and streams. Although floods cannot be regarded as unexpected, where and when they will strike is highly unpredictable. The scale of the floods also varies widely, from minor flashes to major events. Flood management in general involves a wide range of measures which can be classified either as structural and non-structural: Structural measures are physical measures, such as the construction of flood attenuation dams, river draining works such as levees and urban stormwater systems to control flood run-off and river flows. Non-structural measures entail for instance the introduction and enforcement of sensible land-use practices on floodplains, promulgation of dam safety legislation and regulations, furthering flood preparedness and contingency planning, instituting flood warning systems, etc. Non-structural measures are aimed mainly at changing patterns of behaviour. Local authorities often find that the flood management guidelines and directives from the national and provincial spheres are not forceful enough. At present these guidelines and directives are contained in the Water Act (No 54 of 1956) and in various Provincial Ordinances. By incorporating these into local bye-laws, local authorities can establish sensible flood management practices. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is the lead agency on the national level with regard to the physical management of rivers (the management of water-related matters). For this reason Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is also expected to be the lead agency on a national level with regard to floods and dam failures. However, flood management, and especially non-structural flood management, is much more of a people issue than a water management issue. It would therefore make much more sense to have a multi-sectoral, interdepartmental, integrating body for overall flood management. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry could feed its largely technical flood management information into such an integrating institution. The integrating institution could then link this technical information with other important information (demographic, social, etc.) and ensure that it is made available in a useful form to target audiences. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry could then limit its input to only water-related aspects. Other non-water-related issues such as town-planning and building norms and standards, disaster management contingency planning, etc. would be handled by other bodies or departments with the necessary expertise in those fields. Prevention and preparedness By and large disasters resulting from floods can be prevented, as most flood damage occurs because of poor planning, and the settlement of people in high risk areas on floodplains. Although many components of a flood management policy may already exist, they are not clearly described in a single document. There is also not a single lead agency dealing with flood management issues on the national level. The responsibility of a national lead agency will be, for instance, to ensure that a National Flood Management Policy is developed and maintained as part of the envisaged National disaster management Structure. Some of the main elements of the policy could include, for instance: Clear identification of the flood management roles and responsibilities of national, provincial and local government, catchment authorities, the private sector (e.g. the insurance industry), individuals and communities. Arranging for a structure of financial assistance to further pre-emptive flood management practices. Providing for the development and enforcement of standard or "default" norms and practices for how floodplains should be used. Arranging for the development and maintenance of a communication strategy. Measures to safeguard the public against loss of life and property by means of dam safety legislation and flood control guidelines have been developed by Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The Department has direct access to the best available river flow data, which include water levels during flood events and current and planned releases from dams. Monitoring of rainfall and runoff with the purpose of forecasting flood flow and issuing warnings exists in only a few places in South Africa. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry maintains such a system in the Vaal-Orange River system of dams, the Ladysmith Local Council has such a system in the Klip River and the Sandton Local Council monitors the Jukskei River where it passes through Alexandra. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the Weather Bureau have developed a pilot project called the "Integrated Vaal River Forecasting System" to facilitate better flood management in the Vaal River Basin. At present Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is busy with initiatives on our most important rivers to collect and access up-to-the-minute data with the aid of the newest satellite and cellphone technology. Presently, there are 46 observation stations, and the intention is to expand these to 59 to give even wider coverage. The Department is also empowered to build government water works for the specific purpose of flood control. The Water Act, 1956 empowers the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to subsidise the cost of repairing water works damaged by floods. Responding to floods Regional or wide-area floods A danger situation typically escalates over days and weeks. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry monitors river flows and dam levels, but the density and sophistication of monitoring networks available, differ vastly from catchment area to catchment area. The Weather Bureau monitors rainfall on a national basis and routinely issues warnings of expected heavy falls. These forecasts are crucial for flood warnings where rivers are full. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry issues warnings where it has information of floods escalating. This is done by press releases and, in a few cases, directly to specific large communities at risk. A major shortcoming is the absence of an institution into which Department of Water Affairs and Forestry can feed its observations and flood forecasts. There is a need for an institution which can take Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's technical information and transform it into a form which is useful and meaningful to the various target audiences usually involved, and which can direct relevant information and warnings to the respective audiences. In the majority of our rivers, flood warnings from the national level are not possible, largely due to a lack of information at that level. Communities themselves and regional organisations such as irrigation boards, normally play an important role in preparedness and flood warnings. The levels of preparedness of communities vary vastly, even in one catchment area. Depending on the size of the flood escalating, adjacent local authorities, the province/s, SAPS, the regional component of the SANDF and the national lead agency will be alerted by either a specific local authority or regional organisation. In the past the SAPS and, especially, SANDF helicopters played a crucial role in rescue operations. The following critical services are often interrupted by floods and require emergency reinstatement: Communication systems Potable (drinkable) water supply Access along selected streets and roads Power supply Sewers Past floods have shown the need for specialist relief teams to be available to communities during and after floods. These include typically: A co-ordinator with special skills and authority to establish order and to determine the correct priorities. Medical personnel with emergency supplies to provide (additional) treatment facilities. It appears as if the Medical Corps of the Defense Force is ideally equipped to fulfill this function. Specially trained social workers to deal with the morale of the affected community. Civil engineers to oversee the reinstatement of public buildings, schools, water supplies, sanitation, streets and roads, and electrical engineers to oversee the reinstatement of the power supply. Flash floods at the local level Local authorities have the responsibility to monitor and warn inhabitants against flash floods and inform the relevant provincial and national governments. Local authorities also have the responsibility to mobilise their emergency services and volunteer institutions or organisations. If the situation is beyond the capacity of the local government to manage, it can call on the assistance of the SAPS, SANDF and other bodies that can provide physical support in dealing with victims and conducting search and rescue missions. The local authority is also responsible for mobilising temporary housing resources from the Department of Housing at the Provincial and National levels, the SANDF, NGOs or the private sector. Finally, the local authority has the task of establishing the extent of damage, and the number of victims. Dam Failures Dam failures occur for a number of reasons. They can either happen during a flood, when the mass of water spilling over the dam wall erodes the structure and causes failure. Or there can be a so-called "sunny-day" failure, when the dam wall fails due to structural instability. This can be caused by, for example, earthquakes or deterioration of materials over time. For many large dams, emergency preparedness plans exist. Such plans are statutory requirements for new category II and III dams. The owner of the dam has the duty to initiate these plans. Local authorities and Civil Protection Organisations downstream should play an important role in establishing and maintaining such a plan. The requirements with regard to emergency preparedness plans should probably be expanded to also make provision for existing dams. The onus is on the owner of the dam to alert people and communities downstream of a dam-break developing, in accordance with the emergency preparedness plan. He/she must also continuously monitor the situation and inform people downstream of developments. From there onwards the situation could be dealt with in the same way as a natural flood event. Points of debate and key questions Who should be the lead agency dealing with floods, and how should this lead agency involve provincial and local governments in both long-term and short-term strategies for flood disaster management? Is everything being done to ensure that flood potential is closely monitored, and then, local warnings are provided in a useful format for people to respond? What are the main issues and concerns arising from flood disaster management with existing systems in place? Who else at the national level should the lead agency involve in preventative measures against floods, and how? How best can communities be involved in flood disaster management? Green Paper on Disater Management Index | Section-4 Index | Top of page 4.1.3 Fire Hazards The value of property destroyed by fire is increasing in South Africa. The annual estimate for fire losses is approaching R1000 million. Fire disasters may be caused by a single fire that spreads from the point of origin - such as buildings - or they may be the secondary result of another disaster such as a storm or earthquake that starts fires in numerous locations simultaneously. Prevention and preparedness Within the urban environment fires are prevented through legislation such as the National Buildings Regulations and municipal by-laws. Other measures include public education and codes of practice issued by the SABS. Fire fighting, rescue, and emergency medical operations are covered by the Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987. The Act empowers the Premier of each province to take extraordinary measures to allow a fire brigade service to effectively deal with incidents. This is an important operational provision that can take effect in the early stages of an incident, before it is formally declared a disaster. The Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987, confers a wide range of powers on a fire fighter. These include the authority to enter premises, close streets, obtain assistance from the public, and even to demolish buildings. Fire brigade services normally deal with hazardous materials incidents. They are involved in the safety and prevention aspects during inspections and building plan approval as well as the mitigation phase during incidents. Fire fighters receive training in dealing with a wide range of hazardous material incidents. Larger departments have large databases at their disposal as well as protective clothing, HAZMAT equipment and chemical monitoring equipment. Fire brigade services are also the agency that responds to disasters caused by road traffic accidents, collapsed buildings and similar large-scale incidents. The current Fire Brigade Act needs to be applied to expand the pool of volunteers that can be used as 'reservist' in cases of emergency. Local government can use the services of NGOs and other public sector institutions to train these reservists. This provision in the Act has not been sufficiently exploited. There are efforts to establish a National Incident Data System, which is able to provide quick data and statistics on fires and hazardous materials incidents. This data system should be linked to a National Incident Management System and should eventually form part of information collated by the IDMC. In the case of predicting potential weather conditions for fire hazards, such as veld or forest fires, the Weather Bureau plays a critical role in advising the public, agricultural communities, and the forestry sector by giving early warnings. Responding to fires In the case of fires, the first people that are likely to respond to a fire disaster are the emergency services units of a local authority. However, it is clear that most of the well-equipped emergency services are based in urban centres, and these are suited to deal with a range of fire-related incidents such as structural fire-fighting, aviation, marine, wildfires, and so on. In rural areas, however, emergency services are weak, and often communication with these areas is difficult. In responding to fires, the local authority does carry out certain actions, and these involve: Mobilising rapid response teams, with some provinces including a combined medical services unit. In towns where these services have been provided in combination, they have been found to be more effective. Calling on intergovernmental co-operation in cases of major disaster. The main role-players in this case are likely to be the ambulance department, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Environmental Affairs, university laboratories, SAPS, traffic authorities, SABC, Hospitals, State veterinary services and provincial health departments. In cases that involve rural areas, local authorities have to work with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry sectors to deal with particular fire hazards. Points of debate and key questions What are national roles in fire disaster management, and who should be the key agency? What are the main constraints in dealing with fire hazards? What are the main preventative measures that can be taken and who should be involved? How should fire brigade services be funded nationally? Is there a role for the private sector? Have efforts been made to ensure that the Forestry and Agriculture Departments co-operate in their responses to veld fires? Green Paper on Disater Management Index | Section-4 Index | Top of page 4.1.4. Bomb explosions and civil unrest (click to continue) General | 1. Introduction | 2. Key principles for a Disaster Management policy | 3. Different approaches to Disaster Management | 4. Current situation in managing diasaters | 5. Ensuring that a system for Disaster Management is in place | 6. Intergovernmental and civil society co-operation and co-ordination | 7. Glossary | Contents