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Although
South Africa is generally not regarded as a country at high risk
to disasters, it is beset by many risks and hazards both natural
and human-made. The majority of South Africa’s population
is living in fragile and vulnerable conditions as a result of
high levels of poverty, low standards of living, high levels of
unemployment, lack of access to resources, unequal patterns of
asset ownership and distribution, environmental degradation, and
slow economic growth. The institutional arrangements and capacities
to
respond to these disasters were extremely limited in the past,
and are still minimal in underdeveloped parts of the country.
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