ICT Readiness for Disaster Risk Reduction: Lessons from Tropical Cyclone Idai

AbstractTropical Cyclone Idai ripped through Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in mid-March 2019. Hundreds of lives were lost and a lot more remain unaccounted for. This study investigates the extent to which Zimbabwe’s information and communication technology (ICT) is ready for disaster risk reduction (DRR) application and management. The focus was on Chimanimani District, where Cyclone Idai hit eastern Zimbabwe on 15 March 2019. This work further investigates the damage to ICT infrastructure and its resilience to the cyclone. Through the use of a questionnaire survey, interviews, document analysis and field observations, it emerged that Zimbabwe’s application of ICT in early warning systems remained low and ineffective due to the lack of appropriate equipment and expertise and unreliable electricity supply. In Chimanimani, some mobile network service providers’ base stations were flooded and communication was cut off completely, while mobile penetration at household level is near 100%. Grid electricity was also cut off for close to 1 month, with secondary impacts on charging mobile devices and signal coverage. Mobile phones and social media platforms such as WhatsApp were widely used at all DRR cycle stages, while radio provided the widest reach in terms of public announcements. From these findings, we recommend that authorities should invest heavily in modernising national weather forecasting ICT and promote the use of mobile phones as one of the platforms for DRR, especially in early warning. There is also the need to raise disaster awareness and preparedness among communities in Chimanimani.KeywordsICT readinessCyclone IdaiChimanimaniEarly warningDisastersExtreme weather