Heavy rains and storms are the main causes of flooding.
Floods are also caused by pollution. Pollutants like plastics block storm water drains causing rain water to dam up in streets and flood houses and other buildings.
Any waste that’s discarded irresponsibly can cause blockages in the storm water drainage system and this can result in flooding.
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Cape Town informal settlements are often built on wetland areas and these are worst affected.
What can we do to keep safe from floods?
We cannot stop the rain, but we can do things differently not to make flooding worse.
We should never build houses on river banks or flood plains.
We should stop polluting our precious water sources (places where water comes from). Wetlands can prevent flooding so we should look after our wetlands. The municipality should repair burst pipes as soon as possible. People’s lives may depend on it. The weather bureau (people who forecast weather) can use television and radio to warn us when heavy rains are moving our way, so that we can prepare ourselves. Cell phones and social media (Facebook and Twitter) could also be used to warn people about serious floods. Never go near a flooded river or road; wait for help on a higher, safer area.