Namibia has urged the Southern African Development Community bloc to use modern technologies to prevent natural disasters in the region.

The region, which includes 16 countries, is one of the most severely affected by global climate change, with fatal floods and hunger becoming commonplace.

Audrin Mathe, executive director of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, said: "The recurrence of disastrous natural disasters in the SADC region, which frequently disrupt telecommunications systems, highlights the urgent need for the establishment of effective and dependable ICT services."

He spoke at the National Emergency Telecommunications Plan Validation workshop, which was organized in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union.

“Consequences of natural disasters call for an urgent need to establish effective telecommunications links for disaster response and coordination, especially for critical public safety agencies such as fire, safety and ambulance services, to enable them to communicate,” Mathe said.