Mavhura Emmanuel, Aryal Komal R
Department of Geography, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe.
Research and Innovation Centre, Faculty of Resilience, Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Jamba. 2022 Sep 26;14(1):1276. doi: 10.4102/jamba.v14i1.1276. eCollection 2022.
Tropical cyclones are among the costliest disasters in the world, with reported losses amounting to billions of US dollars on an annual basis. To reduce the impact of disasters including cyclones, Zimbabwe signed the Sendai Framework whose Target C is aimed at reducing the direct economic losses of disasters. Under the direction of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), an open-ended intergovernmental expert working group (OIEWG) developed a simple methodology for estimating direct disaster-economic loss. Therefore, this study tested the applicability of the OIEWG methodology in assessing the direct economic losses induced by Tropical Cyclone Idai (TCI) in Zimbabwe. The results revealed that TCI inflicted huge losses in most sectors of the economy, notably the housing, agriculture and the critical infrastructure. The sectoral analysis approach of the OIEWG methodology worked well in distinguishing direct and indirect loses as well as in underlining the need to adopt and effectively implement adequate risk reduction strategies in the built environment. Strengthening such strategies such as the 'build back better' principle, cyclone forecasting and warning systems and constructing cyclone-resilient infrastructure is critical in order to minimise direct losses attributed to cyclones.
热带气旋是世界上造成损失最大的灾害之一，每年报告的损失达数十亿美元。为减少包括气旋在内的灾害影响，津巴布韦签署了《仙台框架》，其目标C旨在减少灾害的直接经济损失。在联合国减少灾害风险办公室（UNDRR）的指导下，一个不限成员名额的政府间专家工作组（OIEWG）制定了一种估算灾害直接经济损失的简单方法。因此，本研究测试了OIEWG方法在评估津巴布韦热带气旋伊代（TCI）造成的直接经济损失方面的适用性。结果显示，TCI给经济的大多数部门造成了巨大损失，特别是住房、农业和关键基础设施部门。OIEWG方法的部门分析方法在区分直接损失和间接损失以及强调在建筑环境中采用并有效实施适当的风险降低策略的必要性方面效果良好。加强诸如“更好地重建”原则、气旋预报和预警系统以及建设抗气旋基础设施等策略对于将气旋造成的直接损失降至最低至关重要。
