Is flood a natural or human-made catastrophe? Pope Francis' ecological response in Laudato Si'

The flood theme is central in South Africa and the world at large. The reality of floods is an anthropological reality. Human history cannot be dissociated from the catastrophe of the flood. Floods are one of the causes of the loss of human life. Floods have damaged property and infrastructure. In this article, we want to reflect on floods as a challenging anthropological catastrophe. What is a flood? What are the types of floods? Is a flood a natural or human-made catastrophe? Based on Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ on Care for Our Common Home, how can we respond to ecological situations like floods? After the introduction, the second section will examine the meaning and types of floods. Floods as a natural catastrophe will be dealt with in section three. Section four will discuss floods as a human-made catastrophe. The fifth section will reflect on the ecological response of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ to, among other things, floods. As we cannot dissociate human beings from their environment, it is difficult for holistic and authentic anthropology to ignore ecological issues like floods. Then the last section will be the conclusion.