How drought or flooding knock small businesses in African cities

1.0fcfahttps://futureclimateafrica.orgCCKEhttps://futureclimateafrica.org/author/ccke/How drought or flooding knock small businesses in African cities - fcfarich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="eSCyNxe6om"><a href="https://futureclimateafrica.org/news/how-drought-or-flooding-knock-small-businesses-in-african-cities/">How drought or flooding knock small businesses in African cities</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://futureclimateafrica.org/news/how-drought-or-flooding-knock-small-businesses-in-african-cities/embed/#?secret=eSCyNxe6om" width="600" height="338" title="“How drought or flooding knock small businesses in African cities” — fcfa" data-secret="eSCyNxe6om" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display="none";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement("a"),a=d.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> https://futureclimateafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/istock-598710284-1024x768.jpg1024768How does a small business like a restaurant or panel beater in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, buffer itself against the impact of the kind of extreme drought that hit Southern Africa in the summer of 2014, owing to the arrival of the El Nino weather phenomenon? It buys a diesel generator as a back-up, in case of power outages resulting when lower dam levels in Lake Kariba contribute to the country’s power utility throttling back on its hydro-electricity production. To make this kind of business investment, though, might mean getting a loan to finance the cost of the generator.