Extreme weather events ranked as a top global worry at the World Economic Forum 2018

For the second year, the World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey has found extreme weather conditions, failure to tackle climate change, natural- and man-made disasters ranking high on the risk tables.

“This is certainly a true reflection of what we are experiencing in South Africa of late – devastating fires on the Garden Route which saw loss of life and an estimated property damage loss of between R4 billion and R5 billion; a severe drought in the Western Cape with the taps predicted to be shut off in April – these and other disasters resulted in 2017 being one of the most costly for insurance companies on record,” said Rudi Schmidt, Managing Director of Alexander Forbes Insurance.

Insurance plays a very important role in providing support for people in the time of need. “South African insurance penetration is low, leaving many people in the country highly vulnerable. The insurance industry has risk-management expertise and is well placed to make South Africans more resilient to the impact of extreme weather.”

Schmidt said South Africans can mitigate the direct or associated consequences of extreme weather by:

• Properly maintaining the structural integrity of buildings. “For example, making sure doors, window frames, sills and roofs are weatherproof.”
• Making sure drains are in working order and not blocked. “This includes municipal drains, gutters and embankments near your property that if blocked or damaged could cause damage to your own property.”
• When possible, not driving in bad weather.
• Making sure that windscreen wipers, lights and brakes are working and that tyres have sufficient tread.
• Parking your car in a garage or carport during bad weather.
• Trimming dead or overhanging tree branches to prevent them falling on to your property and causing damage.
• Installing SABS-compliant lightning conductors.
• Installing surge-blockers in the circuitry of electronic equipment.
• Unplugging computers and other sensitive electronic equipment when not in use or during bad weather.
• Building or buying above the flood line and thoroughly investigating how wind, water, drainage, power supply and access might affect your property in bad weather or during a natural disaster.

“There is much that people can do to prevent natural disaster-related loss by anticipating what could go wrong, putting the right precautions and measures in place, and finding out, and rehearsing, the actions most appropriate to various disaster scenarios,” concluded Schmidt.