South Africa: SA’s impressive social protection system could help mitigate climate disastersSouth Africa’s impressive social protection system could be used to help mitigate climate disasters

On 1 June 2024, Kariega in the Eastern Cape was deluged with more than 220 millimetres of rain — nearly half-a-year’s worth in 24 hours, enough to turn a football field into a shin-deep lake. In KwaNobuhle, an informal settlement on the outskirts of the town formerly known as Uitenhage, Phelokazi Brown fled her inundated home.

“As we were crossing the street, I had my three-year-old on my back, holding my nine-year-old’s hand,” she told the SABC. Her nine-year-old was swept…