By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider

South Africa finds itself in the midst of suffering to maintain human and economic sustainability due to harsh and extreme weather conditions. Communities within the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga find themselves suffering from severe floods, as the climate crises continues to deepen for South Africa.

Tourist destinations such as the Kruger National Park have been heavily affected by the extreme weather conditions as entrances and routes have been damaged, and the return of kids to school has also been affected which have caused household impacts on particularly the learners.

From an agricultural point of view these extreme climate shocks have even cost farmers their livestock, crops and irrigation infrastructure which has put a doubt on food security and the livelihoods of farmers or people who occupy rural areas. The implications will have a critical impact on economic growth and opportunities for people to seek employment.

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) have emphasised that this situation calls for decisive and swift action to be taken in order to manage the situation and has called for this crisis to be declared a national disaster, which will ensure that swift and critical response is taken to help the people within the affected communities.

This declaration will also ensure that first responders, emergency services and volunteers receive the best assistance in helping these affected communities swiftly.

 Despite all this help, the frequency at which the flooding has caused damage and disruption will need more hands on deck.

“These events are more than a humanitarian crisis, but an economic shock, which is affecting tourism and travel; reopening of schools; and agricultural production due to crops, livestock, and damage to irrigation infrastructure, with implications for food security and rural livelihoods” said Executive Director of the PCC, Ms Dorah Modise in a media statement.

 “These overlapping shocks illustrate how climate change is intensifying multi-hazard risk across regions and sectors. Our previous assessment following the KwaZulu-Natal floods found that chronic under-resourcing of local government, fragmented coordination, underinvestment in prevention and preparedness, weak enforcement of land-use controls, and under-maintained stormwater systems, amongst other drivers, significantly worsen disaster impacts” added Modise.