The ManicaPost
CYCLONE Idai was one of the most destructive natural phenomena to befall Zimbabwe, killing at least 150 people so far and left hundreds either missing or displaced in Chimanimani and Chipinge.
It ranks as the worst humanitarian crisis as thousands are petrified, devastated and shocked. The furious winds and floods emanating from Cyclone Idai ravaged livelihoods and infrastructure, and leaving communities along its path vulnerable and reliant on food aid, makeshift shelter and outsourced health interventions.
Learning and access to health has been disrupted, and the psychological and socio-economic scars arising from this catastrophe will take ages to heal, let alone to be forgotten.
Moreover, the recovery of the concealed or missing bodies will not be easy.
Yet the ravaged communities need all the support to account for their missing ones, whether dead or alive.
The dead must be accorded decent burial to bring closure to the bereaved families. Survivors need psycho-social support to get over emotional scars emanation from the disaster.
It is not the duty of the Government alone to act in such situations, but all of us. We have a duty to stretch a hand of assistance in whichever way we can to help the disadvantaged.
As we mourn the deceased, search for the missing ones and commiserate with the survivors, we also need to draw courage, look ahead and think of innovative solutions to future natural disasters.
There is a lot to learn from Cyclone Idai and the mistakes we made should never be repeated. Our disaster response had weaknesses. We need to be proactive.
Research and extensive studies should be carried out on the collection and analysis of the changing hydrological data and weather patterns and recommend innovative tools and technologies to simulate extreme flooding events and come up with flood management plans.
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) must be properly resourced, financially, materially and human resource-wise. It must have some advanced remote sensing instruments to detect disasters weeks before they strike and be at the forefront of educating the public on the course of action to take to avoid loss of lives and livelihoods and infrastructure.
A look at how people in Chimanimani and Chipinge were swept away by floods clearly shows that the victims were relaxed despite some information having been transmitted about the imminent danger.
Notification was done, yes, but only to a limited extent.
We must improve our disaster warning systems by giving people adequate information and more time to take action, potentially saving lives.
Advance warning and pre-planning can significantly reduce the impact of natural disasters and these should include compulsory or forced evacuations.
Communication networks for radio, television and cellphones must be enhanced to ease awareness alerts of disasters in mountainous eastern highlands.
The MSD should also work hand-in-glove with the highly developed countries for updates on possible weather-related disasters that may pose danger to human lives and livelihoods. There is also need to come up with laws barring local authorities and traditional leaders from settling people in danger-prone areas such as Kopa and Ngangu.
We possibly need an arm on rural planning and settlement within the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing just as we already have for urban areas. In Kopa people were settled on the confluence of three perennial rivers, and disaster struck when least expected. Such poor planning and settlement must be avoided.
Government should strictly monitor rural resettlements and take corrective action where possible. Prevention is better than cure and grieving.
We must move along with times and introduce mechanism to construct buildings above flood levels to prevent flood damage. There is no doubt that climate change has contributed to a rise in extreme weather events and African countries must pursue efforts to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Going forward, our disaster prevention and intervention machinery must be well oiled. We cannot afford to be found wanting again. Studies must be carried out to establish the origins of huge rock boulders that mowed down houses at Ngangu and Kopa. The mystery around tremors that hit the two areas must be unravelled while ideal areas must be found to relocate the survivors.
The relocation of victims should not be voluntary, but compulsory since Government has a constitutional mandate to ensure the safety of its citizens.
