Southern African countries won’t manage disasters unless they work together

Cyclone Idai, which recently devastated Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the southern African region. It killed at least a thousand people and caused damages estimated at $2 billion.

The response from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states, civil society, the private sector and individuals in the region points to the need for a collective, regional approach to addressing natural disasters — rather than individual countries working alone.

Idai also showed, once again, just how unprepared SADC is to respond to major natural disasters. It doesn’t seem to have learnt much from earlier ones.

In 2015, floods and torrential rains associated with the tropical storm Chedza, and Cyclone Bansai left about 260 people dead and 360,000 homeless in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

About a year earlier, flash floods killed, displaced and left thousands homeless in Zimbabwe. However, the storm that remains most vivid in many people’s minds is the one that hit Mozambique…

 

Disaster Relief Financing

Disaster management and relief measures for natural calamities figure neither in the union and state lists, nor in the concurrent list. Hence, by default, according to item 97 of the union list, it becomes the responsibility of the centre. However, in practice, this responsibility has been vested with the states—and rightly so—since most of the work in the area of disaster management lies with the states and the districts, while the central government plays a largely supportive role, providing financial, technical, and material support whenever necessary….

 

Iran Floods Leave Its Regime Drowning in Domestic Criticism

In about two weeks, from mid-March to the beginning of April, some 70 percent of the annual precipitation fell in Iran. About 1,900 cities and villages – some estimates cite 4,500 communities in about 21 districts – were flooded with water and mud. More than 70 people were killed and about two million are in need of food and medicines…