This article has been supplied and will be available for a limited time only on this website. Weather-related disasters have increased fivefold globally over the past 50 years, while the economic losses associated with these events have risen sevenfold, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
As the Western Cape recovers from recent flooding and climate experts warn that a strengthening El Niño could intensify weather extremes in the months ahead, the province faces a critical opportunity to rethink how it plans, designs and builds.
The focus can no longer be on recovery alone, but on creating communities, infrastructure and buildings better equipped to withstand future shocks.
The recent floods demonstrated the disruption extreme weather can cause, damaging roads, isolating communities, interrupting businesses and affecting properties across the province.
Yet the floods also revealed something encouraging. Much of the province's infrastructure performed remarkably well under difficult conditions, demonstrating the value of long-term investment, sound engineering and effective disaster response. The challenge now is to build on those strengths while addressing the vulnerabilities that the floods exposed.
