Many parts of the country were severely affected, and continue to be battered by the heavy rains since the start of the year.
The floods, which resulted in the loss of many lives, were later declared a national disaster by the National Disaster Management Centre, which said these threatening conditions are calling for a new societal and government approach to promote risk reduction.
The disaster management centre has proposed that a flood line be considered before building any infrastructure.
“A flood line is an imaginary line on the ground that denotes the edge of the water during a flood,” said Xanthe Adams, principal engineer at SRK Consulting.
According to Adams, the National Water Act requires the flood lines to be shown on plans for housing and other developments which will exhibit the highest level that a flood could reach every 100 years, the most common stipulated timeframe.
“All buildings ought to be above this flood line to avoid the danger of flooding and infrastructure being washed away by the floods,” she said.
Adams said municipalities ought to be responsible to enforce compliance with flood lines as part of reducing flood risk to communities and infrastructure.
“Their planning must mitigate and manage the effect of urbanisation, which generally means more rainfall run-off and a greater risk of flooding.
“Companies who require a full environmental impact assessment or even a basic environmental assessment may be required to furnish a flood line as part of the permitting process,” she added.
The engineer further said planning any activity in or near a river, such as building a bridge or installing a pump, might require a water use licence that includes a flood line.
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