Flood survivors’ perspectives on vulnerability reduction to floods in Mbire district, Zimbabwe

Mucherera, Blessing; Mavhura, Emmanuel

doi:10.4102/jamba.v12i1.663

Cited by 18 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If state institutions adopt this same conceptualisation of compensation, then victims of disaster-induced displacement might stand to lose amidst blame shifting on responsibility to act before, during and after a disaster. For instance, in the Muzarabani and Mbire floods, survivors blamed their Rural District Council for neglecting them during the disaster and the district councillors blamed the survivors for settling in flood-prone areas (Mucherera & Mavhura, 2020 ; Ncube-Phiri et al, 2014 ). While compensation guidelines might be a lifeline for affected rural households known to live without insurance schemes (Mucherera & Mavhura, 2020 ), the state’s reluctance to engage in developing new guidelines cannot be seen as mere oversight.…”

Section: State Power and The Resettlement Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forced displacement: critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster

Mucherera

Spiegel

2021

GeoJournal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forced displacement and resettlement is a pervasive challenge being contemplated across the social sciences. Scholarly literature, however, often fails to engage complexities of power in understanding socio-environmental interactions in resettlement processes. Addressing Zimbabwe’s Tokwe-Mukosi flood disaster resettlement, we explore hegemonic uses of state power during the pre- and post-flood induced resettlement processes. We examine how state power exercised through local government, financial, and security institutions impacts community vulnerabilities during forced resettlement processes, while furthering capitalist agendas, drawing insights from analysing narratives between 2010 and 2021. Concerns abound that multiple ministries, the police, and the army undermined displaced people’s resilience, including through inadequate compensation, with state institutions neglecting displaced communities during encampment by inadequately meeting physical security, health, educational, and livestock production needs. We explore how forcibly resettling encamped households to a disputed location is not only an ongoing perceived injustice regionally but also a continuing reference point in resettlement discussions countrywide, reflecting concerns that land use and economic reconfigurations in resettlement can undermine subsistence livelihoods while privileging certain values and interests over others. Policy lessons highlight the need for reviewing disaster management legislation, developing compensation guidelines and reviewing encampment practices. Analytically, lessons point to how state power may be studied in relation to perspectives on the destruction of flood survivors’ connections to place, people and livelihoods, underscoring the critical need for theorising the relationships between power dynamics and diverse experiences around displacement.

show abstract

Section: State Power and The Resettlement Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forced displacement: critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster

Mucherera

Spiegel

2021

GeoJournal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This was particularly pronounced in households where men struggled to find new employment prospects or out-migrated (either temporarily or permanently) for work, leaving their non-migrating household members (i.e., women and children) with limited financial or material support. A qualitative study examining the impact of flooding events on rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe similarly documented women’s heightened caregiving obligations as men pursued formal employment to recuperate lost income [ 38 ]. Importantly, the aforementioned study did not report increased demands on women to find employment, as observed in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Burnt by the scorching sun”: climate-induced livelihood transformations, reproductive health, and fertility trajectories in drought-affected communities of Zambia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Climate-induced disruptions like drought can destabilize household and community livelihoods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This qualitative study explores the impact of severe and prolonged droughts on gendered livelihood transitions, women’s social and financial wellbeing, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in two Zambian provinces. Methods In September 2020, in-depth interviews (n = 20) and focus group discussions (n = 16) with 165 adult women and men in five drought-affected districts, as well as key informant interviews (n = 16) with civic leaders and healthcare providers, were conducted. A team-based thematic analysis approach, guided by the Framework Method, was used to code transcript text segments, facilitating identification and interpretation of salient thematic patterns. Results Across districts, participants emphasized the toll drought had taken on their livelihoods and communities, leaving farming households with reduced income and food, with many turning to alternative income sources. Female-headed households were perceived as particularly vulnerable to drought, as women’s breadwinning and caregiving responsibilities increased, especially in households where women’s partners out-migrated in search of employment prospects. As household incomes declined, women and girls’ vulnerabilities increased: young children increasingly entered the workforce, and young girls were married when families could not afford school fees and struggled to support them financially. With less income due to drought, many participants could not afford travel to health facilities or would resort to purchasing health commodities, including family planning, from private retail pharmacies when unavailable from government facilities. Most participants described changes in fertility intentions motivated by drought: women, in particular, expressed desires for smaller families, fearing drought would constrain their capacity to support larger families. While participants cited some ongoing activities in their communities to support climate change adaptation, most acknowledged current interventions were insufficient. Conclusions Drought highlighted persistent and unaddressed vulnerabilities in women, increasing demand for health services while shrinking household resources to access those services. Policy solutions are proposed to mitigate drought-induced challenges meaningfully and sustainably, and foster climate resilience.

show abstract

“…Increased population pressures, effects of poverty and other environmental changes may exacerbate these effects. In turn, the associated extreme weather events may severely undermine economic growth and poverty reduction, especially in food-insecure, low-income countries (Mucherera & Mavhura 2020 ; Munyai et al 2019 ; Zwane 2019 ). Such events usually have economy-wide implications beyond directly affected sectors or regions, as production chains are disrupted, assets depreciate and consumer demand declines (Abidoye & Odusola 2015 ; Mugambiwa & Tirivangasi 2017 ; Nhamo & Muchuru 2019 ; Van Der Veen 2004 ).…”

Section: The Nexus Of Tropical Storms and Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contemporary storms and floods in East Africa include Cyclone Gretelle of 1997, the widespread floods associated with the cyclones Leon-Elyne, Gloria and Hudah of 1998–2000, Idai and Kenneth of 2019. Whilst the extent of the damage varied from country to country, some areas were severely affected (Jordaan, Bahta & Phatudi-Mphahlele 2019 ; Kusangaya et al 2014 ; Mucherera & Mavhura 2020 ; Munyai, Musyoki & Nethengwe 2019 ; Zwane 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These are unfolding disasters requiring sustained relief efforts. According to Mucherera and Mavhura ( 2020 ), disasters result from the interactions of hazards and vulnerability conditions. For example, they explored the perspectives of survivors of floods in Zimbabwe on vulnerability to floods and showed that shortage of land, flood-based farming practices, poverty and climate change, amongst others, are the key factors that increase vulnerability to floods amongst smallholders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Economic vulnerability to tropical storms on the southeastern coast of Africa

Molua

Mendelsohn

Akamin

2020

Jàmbá Journal of Disaster Risk Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change will hit Africa economically hard, not least Southeast Africa. Understanding the impact of extreme climatic events is important for both economic development and climate change policy. Global climatological summaries reveal high damage potential pathways for developed countries. Will countries in Africa, especially in the southeastern board of the continent, be vulnerable to loss-generating extreme climate events? This study examined for countries in the sub-region, their vulnerability and damage costs, the impact of climate change on tropical storm damage, as well as the differential impacts of storm damages. An approach using a combination of physical and economic reasoning, as well as results of previous studies, reveals that in Southeast Africa, the economic response to the key damage parameters of intensity, size and wind speed is significant for all the countries. Damages in Kenya and Tanzania are sensitive to wind speed. Both vulnerability and adaptation are important for Madagascar and Mozambique – two countries predicted to be persistently damaged by tropical storms. For Mauritius and South Africa, inflictions from extreme events are expected to be impactful, and would require resilient public and private infrastructure. Reducing the physical and socio-economic vulnerability to extreme events will require addressing the underlying socio-economic drivers, as well as developing critical public infrastructure.

show abstract

Flood survivors’ perspectives on vulnerability reduction to floods in Mbire district, Zimbabwe

Cited by 18 publications

References 47 publications

Forced displacement: critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster

Forced displacement: critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster

“Burnt by the scorching sun”: climate-induced livelihood transformations, reproductive health, and fertility trajectories in drought-affected communities of Zambia

Economic vulnerability to tropical storms on the southeastern coast of Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About