Application of the disaster management cycle and climate change: Studying flood disasters in South Africa

Abstract

The devastating floods in the Global South have been attributed to climate change. Furthermore, governmental agencies have been unable to effectively apply the Disaster Management Cycle (DMC) before, during and after disasters. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the application of the DMC in preparation for, and in response to, flood disasters in two South African coastal provinces (namely, the Eastern Cape [EC] and KwaZulu-Natal [KZN]). The paper also assesses the association between the devastating flood disasters of April 2022 and climate change. In order to gather data for this paper, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 stakeholders (including governmental officials, academics, researchers, and officials of non-profit organisations [NPOs]). A thematic analysis was then conducted to categorise and code the collected data. Patterns, trends, and themes that emerged from the data resulted in findings that revealed that Government failed to fully and effectively applied the DMC before, during, and in the aftermath of the 2022 flood disasters. The findings also revealed that Government had failed to incorporate climate change in the DMC and respond proactively to floods. The respondents rejected the climate change rhetoric of various stakeholders, however, and instead continue to regard a cut-off low as the cause of the April 2022 floods. These respondents conceded, however, that climate change and other factors may have contributed to the disaster. Since neither a DMC nor climate change in the Global South have previously been investigated, this paper significantly contributes to knowledge on climate change in South Africa.