Santam urges municipalities to significantly improve disaster prevention systems

Insurer Santam is calling on South African municipalities to significantly improve their disaster management systems, stressing that prevention is better than cure in the face of increasing weather-related catastrophes.

This urgent call follows reports of a sharp increase in weather-related disasters across the country, including devastating fires, floods, and droughts.

Santam attributes the severity of these natural events to climate change, noting that the increase in frequency and intensity has caused widespread devastation and substantial insurance losses.

Santam CEO Tavaziva Madzinga emphasised that proactive measures, particularly early warning systems, were crucial for strengthening emergency response and disaster management capabilities within vulnerable communities.

Madzinga delivered his comments at the B20 Summit, currently being held at the Sandton Convention Centre.

"Installing early warning weather systems, working with local firefighting teams, mapping evacuation routes, and the use of geospatial data analytics, the goal for us is simple, to prevent the loss of life and to prevent the loss of finances and economics, and not just to pay for them."