Conceptualization and management of disasters and climate change events in Africa: a review

Abstract

The concepts of disasters, hazards and climatic events are well established, showing disciplinary-based perspectives. Globally, efforts have been made to come to a common understanding of these concepts; however, there remains a gap in the conceptualizations of these concepts in Africa, the hub of climate change impacts. This paper identified and characterized the understanding, management practices and limitations of disasters/climate change studies in Africa. This study employed a multi-level review process that resulted in the selection of 170 peer-reviewed articles for study. Findings revealed that the majority of the studies were tied to case studies both in the southern region of Africa and the country of South Africa. Findings also revealed that the 'natural disaster' narrative, which excludes the influence of humans in triggering these events, dominated the studies. This was complemented by the dominance of single-hazard narrative and disaster/hazard management measures that promote the prediction and modeling of nature and disasters. Further, it identified limitations in disaster and hazard studies in Africa such as the lack of synthesis of case studies, lack of adaptive planning, lack of state capacities, research-policy gaps among others. It was recommended that research on climate hazards should explore multi-hazards/disasters, demand driven, give more attention to underrepresented disciplines and capture future dynamics in the employed methodologies.

Flood hazard management in a multiple hazard context: a systematic review of flood hazard management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

“…Almoradie, in his 2020 publication, intimated that government should strengthen institutional mandates and functions [ 2 ], and those mandates and functions should consider diverse inputs and the potential outcome on the entire society amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and frequent flood events [ 3 ]. Likewise, in addressing the current multi-hazards, and in preparing for future circumstances in Africa, governments should shift their focus from vulnerability to building resilience [ 13 , 39 ].…”

“…Future research and development projects on multiple hazard circumstances in Africa should be on a common platform that incorporates and encourages the ideas of all stakeholders at all stages [ 13 ]. This step could help with bridging gaps and avoiding inefficiencies and mistakes.…”

“…Researchers suggest that hazard managers should give attention to the modelling and prediction of hazards, and in strengthening early warning systems account for 9%. They agree that the early detection of catastrophic events will reduce the potential losses and damages [ 1 , 3 , 8 , 13 , 45 ].…”

“…Mzava proposed in his study that hydrologic engineering in Dar es Salaam should be engineered to be adapted to both current and future hazards [ 25 ]. Buildings that can adapt to climate hazards are considered one of the most effective means to reduce the impacts of flood hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic and even in future circumstances in Africa [ 13 , 25 ].…”

“…Ecosystem-based measures suggested are the least, with 1%. According to Samu and Akıntuğ [ 35 ], investing in ecosystem-based initiatives like mangrove planting and conservation can help reduce cyclone and flood damage while increasing the potential for a robust and green recovery [ 13 , 44 ].…”