{"id":5199,"date":"2023-09-20T15:50:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T13:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/?p=5199"},"modified":"2023-09-20T15:50:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T13:50:26","slug":"renewed-calls-from-chambers-ccc-following-devastating-storm-surges-in-coastal-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/renewed-calls-from-chambers-ccc-following-devastating-storm-surges-in-coastal-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Renewed calls from Chamber\u2019s CCC following devastating storm surges in Coastal areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nelson Mandela Bay Climate Change Coalition has made renewed calls for coastal municipalities to build a rapid-response system to extreme weather events and to ensure that climate change modelling is integral to city infrastructure development and maintenance planning following the \u201cperfect storm\u201d events of the past weekend. The combination of a passing \u201cdeep low\u201d pressure system and its resultant gale force winds with a high spring gave rise to significant storm surges and caused the loss of life and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure along the coastal areas of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal. The 100 km\/h plus winds and nine metre plus waves has also reshaped significant parts of coastal beach zones.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/a>
Dr Andrew Muir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr Andrew Muir, who chairs the NMB Climate Coalition and is also the CEO of the Wilderness Foundation Africa, said that the storms should serve as a clarion call for Nelson Mandela Bay to accelerate efforts to ensure that the metro has up-to-date disaster management planning and response systems in place, the necessary resources to deal with disaster events in both the short-term and long-term, and importantly plans for a future with a different climate.<\/p>\n

He said while the perfect storm itself is not directly caused by climate change, what can be expected is that the intensity and frequency of such storms will increase significantly. Climate change will also amplify other peak weather events, giving rise to \u201crain bombs\u201d (eThekwini April 2022), \u201cfire storms\u201d (Canada wild fires 2023), and increase the regularity of the weekend\u2019s perfect storm. Long-term impacts on Nelson Mandela Bay will include drier and windier conditions accompanied by sea-level rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weekend\u2019s storm underscores the critical need for local authorities and relevant stakeholders to invest<\/a> in the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure systems, such as increasing vegetated dunes as soft-engineering solutions, ensuring coastal management lines are enforced, and the importance of maintaining stormwater drainage. While extreme weather events cannot be prevented, there are significant proactive actions that can be taken to better withstand such events and protect communities from the associated risks and damages,\u201d said Mr Muir.<\/p>\n

As an example, the deteriorating state of the metro\u2019s drainage system is a significant threat, as it plays a crucial role in managing excess water run-off during heavy rainfall and storms. Neglecting its maintenance can lean to flooding, property damage, and pose risks to public safety.<\/p>\n

In the regions prone to extreme weather events like low-lying coastal areas, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure is essential for disaster mitigation and resilience. As such, it is crucial for the Metro to take these concerns seriously and allocate the necessary resources to address all the identified infrastructure challenges promptly.<\/p>\n

Last year, Dr Muir led a study to assess how climate change will impact Nelson Mandela Bay. The study provides an outlook from 2021-2040, and highlights the impact that extreme storm surges, rising sea levels and temperature increases will have on the Metro. The predicted storm surges would cause severe damage to key infrastructure such as roads and buildings, and communities living in low-lying areas, would be particularly vulnerable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nelson Mandela Bay Climate Change Coalition has made renewed calls for coastal municipalities to build a rapid-response system to extreme weather events and to ensure that climate change modelling is integral to city infrastructure development and maintenance planning following the \u201cperfect storm\u201d events of the past weekend. The combination of a passing \u201cdeep low\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[540],"tags":[566],"class_list":["post-5199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business-news","tag-dr-andrew-muir","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5201,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199\/revisions\/5201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}