Analysis of The Effect of the Disaster Cyclone Idai (Case Study Sample)

Cyclone Idai
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Cyclone Idai
Introduction
Disaster refers to a problem resulting from a natural phenomenon induced by environmental or natural changes or human interaction with nature, such as technological hazards. The outcome causes stress, physical damage, property and life losses, economic disruption at large-scale levels. A disaster is named as such; given the damage it causes to people in communities and societies. Disaster preparation should be the business of every person despite having emergency management and frontline workers because the risks involved required high-level coordination, time management, and quick response. Whenever hazards that can be human-induced or natural come into contact with people, the impact is disaster or emergencies.
Cyclone Idai
In the past two decades, Southeastern Africa inhabitants have not experienced adverse weather conditions. However, with global warming, the climate has changed, and they have experienced intensive periods of droughts and unstable rains. On March 3, 2019, meteorologists noted a tropical disturbance in the Indian Ocean’s Mozambique Channel (Charua et al., 2021). The disturbance, later named Cyclone Idai, hit the region and gained momentum as it moved near the Southeastern Coast of Africa. On March 5, Malawi and Mozambique experienced heavy rains causing severe flooding. By March 11, a tropical depression started building into a storm between Madagascar and the Southeastern Coast of Africa. On March 14, Cyclone Idai reached in Beira, a coastal Mozambique town as a Category 2 storm with winds exceeding 105 miles per hour. The storm caused flooding triggering a humanitarian crisis that needed emergency search and rescue operations.
Effect of Cyclone Idai
The cyclone affected more than three million people in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe (Max, 2020). Cyclone Idai has been considered the worst natural disaster to affect the region in almost two decades. Almost three million people were affected, and more than 1,000 deaths occurred in these four nations. As the storms ravaged the land, flooding occurred. An Indian captain said that Mozambique looked like a sea littered with bodies from the air. India assisted with two ships and several boats for search and rescue missions (Max, 2020). The storms were accompanied by winds that destroyed homes and power lines. Millions of people lost power for weeks on end. As the water rose, more than 780,000 hectares of land were flooded. Freshwater sources were destroyed, leading to one of the largest humanitarian crises in the area. Roads were cut off, and people found themselves stuck in small islands. Estimates showed that more than 1000 people died, but hundreds of bodies floated in the water from the air. Actual numbers could be more than 10,000 since some villages were covered completely (Max, 2020).
Food was dropped by helicopters since roads were impassable. The worst-hit town was Beira, which is a coastal port and city. Beira is located below sea level, which makes it extremely vulnerable to small weather changes. The town suffered from oceanic and River Buzi’s flooding. River Pungwe formed inland oceans that decimated huge pieces of land. Chinaminami and Chipinge districts in Zimbabwe lost 90% of their population and infrastructure (Humanitarian Research Group, 2020). Children were stuck in schools, and they were the highest victims because they could not swim in the waters that were more than 6 meters high. After ten days, roads connecting Beira and Maputo were passable but secondary roads were cut off. Some roads were flooded for months, and villages could receive supplies via air (Devi, 2019). Fuel shortages affected the distribution of supplies. Various donations were stuck at Beira, and shipping them to villages and remote towns presented a major logistical issue (Chari, Ngcamu, & Novukela, 2020).
The humanitarian crisis grew because there was no access to clean water. Even the people who had been rescued or braved the harsh weather did not have food and water. Those who consumed the available water got sick, and the hospitals had also been destroyed. Elderly people suffered from hunger and disease. They were stuck in villages and houses whose access was blocked by huge boulders, trees, and rivers. People could not communicate or charge their phones. Even clothing and warm shelters became very scarce (Charua et al., 2021). People started digging up bodies from the rubble and giving them proper send-offs. Lack of machinery also hindered search and rescue efforts. There were not complex machines to move the boulders and clear the roads. Everything depended on human labor from starving, cold, scared, sick, and helpless people.
Agencies Involved in Dealing with the Aftermath of Cyclone Idai
Mercy Corps was among the first institutions to respond to the humanitarian crisis. The organization distributed kits for clean water. They included soap, buckets with taps, gloves, jerry cans, and purification tablets to promote hygiene. They also constructed latrines for people living in temporary shelters and set handwashing stations.
UNICEF moved into Mozambique and offered vaccines to immunize 900,000 people against diseases such as cholera and rubella. The organization immunized more than 700,000 children against polio and measles. Children saved have severe malnutrition cases, and they were treated (Chatiza, 2019). The organization set up clinics to serve vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. UNICEF partnered with other organizations in Malawi to offer water and hygiene services to people. Infrastructure was built to ensure that people can communicate with each other. Temporary shelters and children’s corners were established, and learning materials were distributed.
World Food Program moved in to support people with food. Children who were already suffering from malnutrition were given nutritious meals to restore their health. World Vision also moved to distribute food and emergency and shelters. They set up special evacuation camps for children and women to ensure that they receive psychological support, learning, and monitoring of their health. They distributed learning materials to children and students. They also drilled boreholes and offered support for people with disabilities by building ramps.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent were involved with rescue efforts in schools and towns that had been cut off. They worked on offering shelter, water, health, and sanitation programs that offered basic things like toilets. The organization worked towards restoring family links, dignified management of the dead, psychosocial support, and restoration of livelihoods.
Disaster Management
Disaster management aims at reducing the potential losses of lives, property, and valuables in the occurrence of natural disasters. Management helps in ensuring that the impacts of the disaster are mitigated and victims receive help to restore their lives (Corina). The disaster management cycle shows the response progress, which states, businesses, the private sector, and civil societies plan and respond to reduce the impact of the disaster. Disaster management involves the formulation of policies and plans to ensure that disaster effects are mitigated.
Disaster Response
The emergency response part includes the actions that are taken immediately to save human lives. These actions also include the prevention of further damages during the disaster. One of the things that show that the community was not prepared for the disaster was the high death toll. In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, several expedient mitigation actions such as clearing of drainages took place. In Beira, the dam had over-flooded, cutting off roads, clean water pipes, toilets, and sanitation facilities (Chanza et al., 2020). Electricity and telephone lines lay on the road, causing electrocution risk. The whole city went into darkness. The first thing they did was to assess the damage and try to restore power to some areas. The generators were used to offer light to people in rescue centers.
Population protection actions were announced over radio and TV stations. People were warned against going to their homes, especially those whose roofs had been blown off. People stranded on artificial islands were also rescued and taken to emergency centers where they received clothes and food. People at rescue centers get access to medical care and food. The response generated demands include the setup of crisis communications to ensure that information flows from the rescue centers to the rescuers and the location of people (Chari, Ngcamu & Novukela, 2020). Crisis communication involved in the coordination of rescue efforts between the government security agencies, NGOs, and the organizations such as World Vision, UNICEF, Mercy Corps. Situation assessment was done, and all the activities are coordinated to ensure that maximum lives are saved.
The public response involves warning response and evacuation of other people. Before the cyclone made landfall, Mozambique Red Cross offered early warning signs (Devi, 2019). The Red Cross also worked at prepositioning items and informing people about the location of rescue centers. People are also informed about taking self-protective actions that reduce their vulnerability. Warning response is more of general risk communication. In the warning process, the message, channel, and receiver must interact and respond immediately (The National Academies Press, 2006). For example, people had been warned about the cyclone before it made landfall. However, given the fact that people had never experienced such...