SAWS Flash Flood Guidance System

As you'll recall, SAWS and the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) operate the South African Flash Flood Guidance (SAFFG) system. SAFFG incorporates meteorological and hydrological data and is based on the American system, which pre-calculates the amount of rainfall required in a basin for a river to overflow its banks.

SAFFG lets forecasters be very specific in their flash flood warnings as to which areas are at risk and/or need to be monitored. The system lets SAWS issue flash flood warnings to disaster management structures and the public, which can save lives and infrastructure.

If you work in a country with SAFFG or a comparable system, you should make full use of it and work towards improving early warning systems for flash flooding and flooding events. If a system is not available, you should find out where and how to obtain hydrological data and start integrating them with forecasting products. This will improve the quality and timings of warnings for flooding and flash flooding events.

Since the system was not operational at the time of the case, no data are shown for it.