When Disaster Risk Management Systems Fail: The Case of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

On 14 March 2019, Zimbabwe was hit by Cyclone Idai, leaving immeasurable destruction of unprecedented magnitude in its wake. In Chimanimani District, many lives were lost, many people were reported missing, and others were displaced. The question that immediately comes to mind is: Was the country prepared to manage the Cyclone Idai disaster? Reflecting on the community experiences, the purpose of this research was to interrogate the strength of the disaster risk reduction legislation and institutions in Zimbabwe in the face of meteorological hazards. The research also evaluated the extent of the impact Cyclone Idai had on the Chimanimani communities and the factors that increased the vulnerability to the cyclone. A mixed method approach that involved 1180 participants was used. The study found that disaster risk management legislation and institutions in Zimbabwe are weak. Cyclone Idai resulted in the loss of many human lives, loss of livelihoods, and massive damage to infrastructure. The cyclone exposed capacity and policy gaps in Zimbabwe’s disaster risk management system. The study makes a number of recommendations, including strengthening disaster legislation and policy, and disaster risk governance. Given the communities’ response to the disaster occurrence, the study also recommends strengthening social capital.

Assessing Progress in Reducing the Number of Disaster-affected People: Insights from Zimbabwe

“…On the other hand, lack of preparedness might have been a result of lack of capacity on both the state and the communities affected. Zimbabwe has been criticised for its lack of preparedness and a thrust on reactionary approaches when dealing with disasters, particularly tropical cyclones and oods (Mavhura 2020;Munsaka et al 2021).…”

An adaptation of a macroscale methodology to assess the direct economic losses caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe

“…It was the worst storm to hit Zimbabwe in the last five decades. The cyclone brought very strong winds of about 195 km/h (120 mph), torrential rains and floods, which caused extensive damage to public utilities, residential areas and agriculture (Munsaka et al 2021). The Tropical cyclones are among the costliest disasters in the world, with reported losses amounting to billions of US dollars on an annual basis.…”

“…It was the worst storm to hit Zimbabwe in the last five decades. The cyclone brought very strong winds of about 195 km/h (120 mph), torrential rains and floods, which caused extensive damage to public utilities, residential areas and agriculture (Munsaka et al 2021 ). The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in individual homes, health and educational institutions and public buildings were extensively damaged.…”

“…Other families went for more than a year living in temporary shelters without electricity, running water and other basic services (Dube, Wedawatta & Ginige 2021 ). To date, a couple of studies on Cyclone Idai have been carried out, focusing on what went wrong and right during the disaster in Zimbabwe (Chanza et al 2020 ; Dube et al 2021 ; Mavhura 2020 ; Munsaka et al 2021 ); however, the direct economic losses of the storm have not been ascertained in order to inform disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy and practice in Zimbabwe.…”

Smart Village: Mobile-Based Community Reporting Application

“…The government can use it as a reference in correcting the shortcomings of village activities and as a means for the community to contribute to village development [14]. If this is not managed correctly, events related to the lack of infrastructure, information associated with the occurrence of a disaster, or social problems such as commotion will be challenging to handle because it is not appropriately monitored [15]. However, the research still focused on data reporting in Cloud Computing rather than visualizing on the mobile phone.…”