This research blog is aimed at describing the nature of coastal risks and vulnerability in South Africa, highlighting the commonly experienced threats that leave coastal communities, infrastructure and ecosystems more susceptible to hazardous events.
This blog provides a comprehensive review of the available natural hazard tools and databases for disaster risk monitoring, mitigation, and analysis in South Africa. It aims to offer valuable insights into the current landscape of disaster risk management in South Africa.
The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) data, provided by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), was used to generate the map layers included in the atlas (https://www.emdat.be). The atlas can be filtered to South Africa, displaying the number of geophysical, meteorological, hydrological, and climatological natural disaster events across the country from 1952.
The Ocean Data Explorer Tool (ODET) was developed in collaboration with SAEON’s Elwandle Node to display raw in-situ PELTER CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth profiler instrument) data from eight PELTER Sites in a web dashboard.
Compiled utilising information from the 2018 National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), this blog speaks to the current status and protection level of South Africa’s marine ecosystems.