“The
waters just started to rise and no-one knew what to do. Everyone
panicked. They grabbed their children and ran. They left everything
behind.”
Anita Wanisella, 48, recalls the devastating floods of 2000,
when images of Mozambicans stranded in treetops above swirling
floodwaters made international headlines. Seven hundred people
died in those floods, and thousands lost their homes, properties
and livelihoods.
A lot has changed since then. When cyclone Fávio swept
through Anita’s village of Pambara 2 in Inhambane province
in February of this year, she was one of many who played a crucial
role in preparing the community and making sure that people
and property remained safe.
“When we heard the cyclone was coming, we warned the community
and advised them to strengthen their houses, tie down their
roofs and keep their children home from school,” Anita
explained. “Houses were damaged, but no-one lost their
lives.”
Anita is a member of a local disaster committee, set up as part
of the Mozambique Red Cross’ disaster preparedness programme.
The programme, which began in Inhambane province in 2002, uses
simple techniques to warn communities of approaching natural
disasters.
By establishing disaster committees and providing them with
the necessary tools to prepare for and mitigate disasters it
aims to empower communities to reduce their vulnerability to
natural hazards such as flooding and cyclones.
A reality of vulnerability
“Responding to disasters is a reality in this province,”
says Maria Gina Mauaie, secretary of the Inhambane branch of
Mozambique Red Cross.
The province, on the south coast of Mozambique, is, like the
rest of the country, prone to both floods and droughts. Mozambique’s
coastline also forms almost the entire western perimeter of
an extremely active tropical cyclone belt – the South-West
Indian Ocean Basin – producing almost 10 per cent of the
world’s cyclones annually.
“Our programme is making sure that communities can respond
effectively and quickly in times of disaster,” continues
Mauaie.
“We started by asking communities about their traditional
coping mechanisms, for example some communities predicted heavy
rains according to the movement of ants uphill. Then we built
on these traditions and worked with communities to identify
escape routes in times of floods, and set up a system for broadcasting
cyclone alerts.”
The Red Cross programme trains five volunteers per community
and provides them with equipment such as radios and whistles
to help them disseminate cyclone alerts and respond to disasters
as well as information materials that explain how to effectively
communicate alerts to communities. These disaster committees
are also able to provide help with first aid, beneficiary identification
and needs assessments in the wake of disasters.
In Pambara 2, Anita and her fellow disaster committee members
heard government cyclone warnings about cyclone Fávio
via radios donated through the Red Cross programme.
The cyclone warning system was set up by the government and
National Meteorology Institute in response to the devastating
floods of 2000 and 2001, and uses a three coloured system to
identify the proximity of the cyclone.
Radios play a critical part of the warning system, as Anita
explains:
“People didn’t believe us at first that a cyclone
was coming. They were asking us how we could speak with God
to find out such news about the weather. So we followed the
instructions given by the Red Cross and organised the community
into small groups. We took the radio to each group and played
the government broadcast so the community could hear it for
themselves.”
Local Red Cross branches helped the committees to alert people,
through megaphones and visits to schools. After the cyclone
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
sent in an emergency health unit, and water, relief, logistics
and telecommunications specialists to support Mozambique Red
Cross to provide emergency assistance to survivors of the cyclone.
However, as the success of the cyclone early warning system
demonstrates, it is Mozambicans themselves who hold the key
to coping with disasters and who have the determination to reduce
their own vulnerability.
The Red Cross, like the rest of Mozambique, knows that natural
disasters are a fact of life in this region. With climate change
an ever present threat, the frequency of cyclones, drought and
floods could increase.
Looking to the future
What is striking about this disaster preparedness programme
is its sustainability – financial support for the programme
in Inhambane province ended in 2006, but the disaster committees
have continued to operate since then, using the skills learnt
through the Red Cross training to protect their communities.
However, with 120 districts to cover across the country, Red
Cross resources are stretched to the maximum and there are still
vast areas in need of early warning support.
“We need more support, more technical staff with knowledge
of climate change and risk reduction so we can support more
vulnerable communities to mitigate disasters,” explains
Rabeca Chalufo, head of the disaster management team at Mozambique
Red Cross.
“There’s a big difference now in community awareness.
This year, although we had floods and cyclone, the mortality
rate was not as high as in 2000. Communities have learnt from
past experience and our programme has helped prepare them for
future disasters. Our final objective is to bring this awareness
to all vulnerable communities across Mozambique”.
Back in Inhambane province, Anita Wanisella has the final word
on the success of the early warning programme:
“The Red Cross taught is what we can do for ourselves.
We felt much safer this year. As members of the local committee,
we are responsible for looking after our community. We were
able to help them because we knew what was going to happen.”
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Anita
is a member of a local disaster committee, set up as part
of the Mozambique Red Cross’ disaster preparedness
programme. The programme, which was started in 2002, uses
simple techniques to warn communities of approaching natural
disasters, supporting them to reduce their own vulnerabilities
to natural hazards such as cyclones and floods. (p15791)
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In
November 2002 the government of Mozambique initiated a
colour-coded cyclone early warning system. Mozambique
Red Cross uses this system to alert people about approaching
cyclones - Blue: 24-48 hours before a cyclone could hit;
yellow: less than 24 hours before; and red: 6 hours before.
(p15792)
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The
success of the Mozambique Red Cross’ disaster preparedness
programme demonstrates that it is communities themselves
who hold the key to coping with disasters and reducing
their own vulnerabilities. (p15794)
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Radios
play an important role in the early warning system. Each
local disaster committee member has a solar powered, wind-up
radio, provided by Fews Net and Vodafone, which provide
access to government early warnings. (p15795)
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