Floods and droughts: Making sense of disaster

Abstract

Trying to make sense of disaster – one man at the University of the Free State (UFS) dedicated his life’s work to answering questions about disasters; what causes it, the extent of damage and disruption, the probability of similar disasters happening in future and measures that could be taken to prevent or minimise the disruption and damages should such a disaster recur. His name is Prof. Giel Viljoen and the crowning glory on his research spanning 25 years, was delivering the F .R. T omlinson Commemorative Lecture on 24 May 2002 at Ilanga Estate, Bloemfontein. “T oo much or too little water: research dedication and lessons for new generation agricultural economists” was the title of his paper which focused mainly on the determination and management of the economic impacts of too much water, or floods on the one hand, and too little water, or droughts on the other. The paper gave an overview of the research that he and his research teams conducted over the years.

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