Nina Bambeni | nina@radioislam.co.za
15 February 2023 | 9:30 PM CAT

Photo Credit: NWU LinkedIn

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a National State of Disaster to enable an intensive response to widespread flooding that has affected seven of the country’s nine provinces.

According to a statement from the President’s Office, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been most affected by the floods, brought on by heavy rainfall due to the La Niña weather phenomenon.

The North West University’s professor Livhuwane Nemakonde in the School of Geo- and Spatial Sciences explained two phenomena we experience: La Niña and El Niño. La Niña is currently causing heavy rains in certain parts of the country, whereas, with El Niño, the dry parts of the world experience more drought.

Climate change and global warming also significantly increase the intensity and frequency of natural disasters.

Scientifically it has been speculated that La Niña usually lasts for two years and El Niño for just over a year. Weather forecasters, however, predict heavy rains continuing into the colder seasons.

Nemakonde said that for the president to declare a National State of Disaster meant resources or even certain funds could be allocated for use in other departments with government organisations to bring aid to those affected by the heavy rains and floods.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim