Residents of Cape Town’s informal settlements face health, safety and economic challenges as a consequence of major recurring flooding.
Howden and Resilient Cities Network’s Global Risk and Resilience Fellowship, in partnership with the City of Cape Town, conducted a robust study to understand and assess the direct and indirect cost to the city and communities from flooding in Cape Town’s informal settlements.
One thing that distinguishes flooding from other hazards in Cape Town is its regularity. The near annual occurrence of flood disasters levies continued costs that ripple out across households, claiming lives, damaging property, and disrupting communities. But it also exacerbates many of the other pressing challenges, including around health, education, and economic development, leaving a long wake of costs to individuals and the community.
Through the Global Risk and Resilience Fellowship (GRRF), a partnership of the Resilient Cities Network, Howden and the Sustainable Markets Initiative, Cape Town proposed to find ways to use available information to assess the costs of flooding today and fast-track practical action. This report shares the methodology, results, and recommendations that came out of the project.