DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNICATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES By Gift Mafuleka Department of Poverty and Disaster Management Affairs, Malawi 15th March 2006 San Jose, Costa Rica.

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNICATION WITH
LOCAL COMMUNITIESByGift MafulekaDepartment
of Poverty and Disaster Management Affairs,
Malawi15th March 2006 San Jose, Costa Rica.
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OUTLINE

• Background
• Activities of the department in relation to early
  warning systems preparedness
• Sources of information on flash flood forecasting
• Communication channels
• Challenges

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BACKGROUND

• Land area About 118,000 sq Km, 20 of which is
  water
• Population 12 million plus (1997 population
  census)
• Country amongst the last 6 least developed in the
  world
• Dopdma placed within the office of the President
  and Cabinet
• Mandate of the Department, coordinate disaster
  activities
• Institutionalized CPCs at grass roots revels

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MAP OF MALAWI
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ACTIVITIES OF THE DoPDMA IN RELATION TO EARLY
WARNING SYSTEMS - PREPAREDNESS

• The country is in the process of formulating the
  National Disaster Management Plan and the
  Operations Manual
• Development of Flood Contingency plans for flood
  prone districts 8. Done at the District level
  with local communities
• Assigned disaster officers at district levels
  (funding from UNDP)
• Conducted training for CPCs at all levels
  (district, area and village). Committees to act
  as frontline personnel in disaster issues

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SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON FLASH FLOOD FORECASTING

• Meteorological Department
• Ministry of Water and Irrigation Development
• Local communities - local indigenous knowledge

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COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

• Meteorological Department issues press release to
  stakeholders through both electronic and print
  media
• DoPDMA alerts district Commissioners especially
  those in flood prone areas to activate their
  Flood Contingency Plans
• Within rural setting, local leaders use call boys
  to alert the communities of the impeding hazard
• Local leaders then order evacuation and
  re-allocation of people to higher grounds if need
  arises

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CHALLENGES

• Getting the right type of information from
  relevant stakeholders
• Poorly developed infrastructure and communication
  facilities.
• Lack of state of the art equipment to have
  timely, right predictions, and therefore right
  information
• Lack of trained personnel at all levels need
  for on-going training programs because of high
  turnover of personnel
• Inadequate communication media (channels) at
  local levels - not very reliable and sustainable

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CHALLENGES (continued)

• Uncoordinated approaches to dissemination of
  information to the users political perception
  of early warning versus relief activities,
  peoples perception regarding handouts
• Problems with decision making when it comes to
  information regarding evacuation of the people
• Inadequate financial resources to coordinate and
  operationalize such activities at all levels
• Cultural issues social aspects in areas prone
  to floods (people not willing to move to higher
  grounds for fear of losing their
  livelihoods/social structure strata)

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