Resilience Lessons from 2019 Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth
Post Event Review Capability (PERC)
This series is based on a Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance Post Event Review Capability (PERC) study analyzing the 2019 Cyclone Idai impacts in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe and Cyclone Kenneth impacts in Mozambique.
Overview
The tropical Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth weather systems, which made landfall in Southeast Africa in March and April 2019 respectively, brought catastrophic destruction and damage to communities across Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Wind blew roofs off homes, rain destroyed mud-brick houses, floodwaters exceeding anything in historic memory inundated homes and fields, and landslides tore through communities.
Cyclone Idai was the most devastating cyclone on record to hit Africa and the southern hemisphere. In early March, the precursor to Cyclone Idai, Tropical Depression 11, brought torrential rains and wind to southern and central Malawi. On March 9, the storm moved back out over the Mozambique Channel where it rapidly intensified before making landfall a second time, as Cyclone Idai, near the port city of Beira, Mozambique on March 15. Over the next few days, as the storm crossed Mozambique and moved inland, it released additional rain in Malawi and heavy rains across much of eastern Zimbabwe causing flooding, flash floods, and landslides. A month later cyclone Kenneth hit Mozambique as the strongest cyclone to hit that country.
Cyclones Idai and Kenneth resulted in widespread humanitarian disaster. Such a disaster emphasizes the ever increasing and critical need to learn what happened during these events and what can be improved to reduce risk to future events. As climate change creates new hazards and intensifies existing hazards, proactive and collaborative efforts are needed across all levels from the local to national level and between communities, districts, provinces and countries to build resilience.
Citation: Venkateswaran, K., MacClune, K., Keating , A., Szönyi, M. (2020). The PERC manual-Learning from disasters to build resilience: A guide to conducting a Post-Event Review 2020. Colorado, USA: ISET-International.
Funded by: The Z Zurich Foundation
The Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance is a multi-sectoral partnership focused on enhancing resilience to climate hazards in both rural and urban communities.
