About 120 delegates have gathered at the Khayalami Hotel in Mbombela to enhance local preparedness for severe weather and climate threats.

Hosted by the Disaster Management Institute of South Africa (DMISA) alongside government and private sector partners, the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Early Warning for All (EW4ALL), and Disaster Management Professionalisation Seminar ran from Wednesday, July 22, to Thursday, July 23.

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The event aimed to promote collaboration among communities, government, academia, humanitarian organisations and the private sector.

Strengthening risk governance

It was held under the theme “Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction, Early Warning for All and the Professionalisation of Disaster Management”.

The event comes at a critical time as South Africa continues to experience increasingly frequent and severe disasters driven by climate change, rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation and socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Recent disasters in Mpumalanga, including floods, severe storms, drought conditions and veld fires, have highlighted the urgent need for stronger disaster risk governance, effective early warning systems and enhanced co-ordination among all sectors of society.

Disaster management everybody’s business

DMISA president Lebogang Mosotho said the seminar provided an important platform for advancing disaster resilience and promoting professional excellence within the disaster management sector.

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“Disaster management is everybody’s business. Building resilient communities requires collaboration between government, communities, the private sector, academia and humanitarian organisations. This seminar seeks to strengthen partnerships, share lessons from recent disasters and advance practical solutions that reduce risk and save lives.”

Focus on community preparedness

South African Red Cross provincial manager Kgetsa Mothotse said such a seminar was needed in Mpumalanga because the province is seasonally prone to disasters. “We also need to educate our communities on the essential things they need to do before a disaster hits.”