![]() ![]() According to the study, 70 of the stations had a continuous string of data over 1950-2022 and five were able to provide the required data required in time for the study. The South African Weather Service gave the World Weather Attribution team daily rainfall observations for 194 stations in the affected region. Source: World weather attribution ( 2022) The red outline indicates the area analysed in the study. Rainfall in South Africa over 11-12 April. The map below shows the total rainfall on the eastern coast of South Africa over 11-12 April, where darker blues indicate more intense rainfall. In this study, the authors analyse the impact of climate change on maximum two-day rainfall over 11-12 April. The rainfall began on 9 April, and reached its peak intensity a few days later. However, the study says “the warnings had limited reach and that the people who did receive them may not have known what to do based on them”. And as the storm drew closer, the severity of the warning level was raised. On 7 April, the South African Weather Service issued a warning for disruptive rainfall. This type of weather system is common in South Africa in April, according to the study – and results in heavy rainfall around one-fifth of the time. The intense rainfall was caused by a “ cut-off low” – a mid-latitude depression, where air of polar origin is cut off from the main subpolar belt of low pressure and cold air. “The new disaster comes after three tropical cyclones and two tropical storms hit south-east Africa in just six weeks in the first months of this year,” the Guardian reported. The timing of the flood made it particularly damaging because South Africa was still recovering from a string of storms and cyclones. They say poor drainage and building standards have increased the scale of the disaster.” “On a visit to affected areas in KwaZulu-Natal, the president said climate change was to blame, but some communities disagree. ![]() He declared a national state of disaster on 18 April. South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, called the floods a “catastrophe of enormous proportions,” and “the biggest tragedy we have ever seen”. In the Port of Durban – one of the largest shipping terminals in Africa – “dozens of heavy shipping containers were dislodged from storage and strewn across the Indian Ocean port during the deluge”. The South African military deployed 10,000 troops to help search the wre c kage for survivors, the death toll quickly rose into the hundreds.Īuthorities say that the city of Durban was the most severely affected, with an estimated 450 people killed in the city. President is heading to the affected areas /ecpm7NrF07- Bloomberg Quicktake April 24, 2019 Overall, the rain drove $1.57bn in damages to infrastructure.Īt least 51 people have died after flooding and mudslides in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, according to local media. Meanwhile, 630 schools were affected in the KwaZulu-Natal province, impacting around 270,000 students. More than 12,000 houses were destroyed, forcing an estimated 40,000 people from their homes. In the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, the deluge triggered “ catastrophic” floods and sudden landslides that “ devastated” the region. Over 11-12 April 2022, close to a year’s worth of rain fell on the eastern coast of South Africa, causing one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country in the 21st century. ![]() “In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid is really key,” an author on the study told a press briefing, adding that “even though apartheid was formally dismantled more than 30 years ago, these structural inequalities persist”. The study also explores the role of structural inequality in vulnerability to flooding, noting that forced relocation moved marginalised groups of people onto land that was more prone to flooding. It adds that rainfall over the two-day period was 4-8% more intense than it would have been without climate change. The World Weather Attribution service finds that climate change doubled the likelihood of the event – from an event expected once every 40 years to once every 20. More than 400 people died as a result of the floods, which also destroyed more than 12,000 houses and forced an estimated 40,000 people from their homes. Over 11-12 April 2022, intense rains hit the eastern coast of South Africa – causing floods and landslides across the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. The extreme rainfall that triggered one of South Africa’s deadliest disasters of this century was made more intense and more likely because of climate change, a new “rapid-attribution” study finds. ![]()
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