Abstract:
Free State province is one of the few provinces that was declared drought disaster-struck in 2015. This
province is said to be the bread-basket of South Africa therefore protecting it and its human capital is
crucial. Social vulnerability to drought was assessed in this study using Iyengar-Sudarshan method. The
objective of the study was to; determine municipalities that are socially prone to drought disaster impacts
and help with resource mobilisation and allocation in drought relief programmes. Indicators were drawn
from Census (2011) data available online. The study appliedIyengar-Sudarshan method in vulnerability
computation and munipalities grouped by statistical K-means clustering. The results showed major
municipalities in the province less vulnerable compared to the rest of other municipalities. The results
concur with reality where Mangaung, Metsimaholo and Matjhabeng are some of the largest municipalities
in the province. However, about 80% of the municipalities in this province are prone to devastating effects
of climate change variability. This implies that an attention should be given to areas with high population
such a Maluti a Phofung which harbours the highest number of agricultural households in the province and
all other areas in accordance with vulnerability levels.
