Return to search

Evaluation of disaster risk management in flood prone areas: a case study of Bramfischerville

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Throughout the 21st century, floods have caused major disasters in urban areas worldwide and especially in Africa. Several factors influence the ability of government to manage flood disasters through the phases of, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery at a local level. The vulnerability of poor communities to flood disasters exacerbates the impact of the flooding on their livelihoods. The inability of governments to communicate effectively with communities about preparedness strategies for flood mitigation has resulted in much damage in urban areas. The study used semi-structured interviews with Disaster Management officials and community members involved in flooding to evaluate the Disaster Risk Management in Bramfischerville. The fieldwork took place in Bramfischerville that was affected by the 2009 floods. The research revealed that the 2009 Bramfischerville floods were caused by heavy rains, the building of RDP housing on a floodplain and ineffective implementation of Disaster Management strategies by the CoJ. This research argues that in order to understand flood disasters, cooperation between all stakeholders involved in Disaster Management is vital in knowledge accumulation. The 2009 floods had negatively impacted the livelihoods of people in Bramfischerville. Their houses were damaged and they had difficulty traveling to work and school. In this view, the costs associated with floods are continuously being a debt for the people living in Bramfischerville. This research found that the disjuncture between the community and the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) officials exacerbates the negative impacts floods have on people’s livelihoods in Bramfischerville. / MT2018

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/24197
Date January 2017
CreatorsMkhulisa, Nhlanhla Nsizwa Patrick
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatOnline resource (133 leaves), application/pdf, application/pdf

Page generated in 0.0017 seconds