The recently established Kommetjie Disaster Risk Management Coalition (Kom-DRM Coalition) held a workshop in February to assess the hazards and risks faced by our community.
The Kommetjie Disaster Risk Management Coalition (Kom-DRM Coalition) was initiated in late 2023 as part of the Resilience portfolio of the Kommetjie Residents and Ratepayers Association (KRRA). Since then, it has developed into a broad coalition of community representatives in Kommetjie and Ocean View, including Komwatch, NSRI, Ocean View Civic Association, Ocean View Community Policing Forum (CPF), and the NPOs Living Hope and Guardians of the Deep, as well as representatives from various KRRA working groups.
Since its establishment, the group has been regularly liaising with City of Cape Town (CoCT) to represent resident concerns about issues such as maintenance of firebreaks and fire hydrants.
In December, the group also initiated the delivery of hot meals and drinks donated by Fisherman’s Garden, Just Foods Deli and Imhoff Farm to the fire service during the large fire that started in Simons Town, with Fisherman’s kindly donating 70 hot burgers.
The February workshop, which was facilitated by the CoCT’s DRM Official Jemma Wheatley and hosted by the Kommetjie Christian Church (KCC), is an essential first step towards developing a DRM action plan. The aim of a DRM Plan is to both reduce the probability of disaster in our community, and limit negative impacts of potential disasters, should they occur.
The top hazards and risks identified and discussed included fire, water supply and civil unrest. Other concerns included power outages, drought, flooding, sea surges and sewage pollution. It was observed that many of these issues interact with each other. Disasters may also affect some parts of the community more than others, and any future plan should therefore take that into account.
While a lot more work needs to be done before a DRM Plan can be finalised, the Kom-DRM Coalition is hopeful that it can bring together the Kommunity to respond to increasing risks related to aging infrastructure and climate change.
WE NEED YOU!
If you would like more information, or to get involved, please contact Emily on info@kommetjie.org or 063 304 9068.