South Africa activate contingency plan to deal with natural disasters

he South African government on Saturday activated its national contingency plan which spells out how to deal with natural disasters. The government said the country is exposed to weather-related hazards in summer that can trigger widespread devastation, including above-normal rainfall that can lead to floods, impacts of cyclones such as severe storms, tornadoes and hail storms. The country is also vulnerable to veld fires and large informal settlement fires.

“We have entered a period that is prone to various disasters and it is important for the country to have contingency plans in place to mitigate their negative impact,” said Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. “We are confident that government across all spheres is responding decisively and adequately to address the humanitarian needs of those affected by recent inclement weather related incidents,” said Zuma.

She said natural disasters destroy infrastructure and disrupt communities who are sometimes left without basic services. The ministry are working with the South African Weather Service who will supply daily and weekly weather forecasts…

10 years after the earthquake

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake, killing more than 230,000 people and injuring 300,000. Medical facilities in the disaster-affected region were almost entirely destroyed. Since then, Haiti continues to face difficulties. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake, a powerful hurricane in 2016 compounded serious political instability that continues to disrupt the country today. In 2010, Humanity & Inclusion deployed one of its largest humanitarian aid operations in Haiti which continues to help strengthen the local physical rehabilitation network. At that time, there were only 13 physical therapists in the entire country and most were working abroad at the time…