Each country has its share of red zones, disaster troubled spots that are fragile and can be volatile during encounters with destructive floods, violent winds or earthquakes.
guest column: Peter Makwanya
As such, every nation should have a special inventory of those trouble spots, so that when disasters strike, they can be ready to manage them in order to safeguard human lives, livestock and property.
It is against this background that vital records of disaster-prone areas need to be maintained and strategically reserved for continuous monitoring and surveillance purposes.
In Zimbabwe, we had our own share of these ecological disruptions, some disturbing and terrifying and others embarrassing.
The Chingwizi and the recent Tsholotsho disasters are cases in point and will remain fresh in the minds of the traumatised victims and survivors.
Record keeping of disaster-prone areas is necessary for the recovery of vital operations in the concerned areas. They say lightning does not strike at a place twice, but this is not true for the people of Chingwizi and Tsholotsho, who have borne the brunt of flooding more than once.
Knowledge that disasters are prone to strike in certain areas helps in planning and averting humanitarian crises in the event disasters do strike.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
For example, authorities could be proactive and ensure that people build disaster-proof buildings, roads and other forms of infrastructure, which will minimise the impact of disasters, save lives and protect the environment.
The thrust of this approach is to identify most critical environmental functions, in order to maintain fundamental operations in cases of emergency.
In this view, records of disaster zones or fragile ecological zones will contain critical information on what constitutes overall needs analysis for those areas.
The concept of keeping an inventory of these areas is important for protecting critical information and systems.
It is also important that those who want to carry out research in those areas be allowed to do so, as they can come up with new knowledge and breakthroughs on how best to keep the effects of natural disasters under control.
If relocations are part of solutions during the rain seasons, these need proper planning and execution.
The Kuomboka practice in Zambia is a successful case in point, where the chief, together with his people, move from their rain-soaked areas during the rainy season to safer places until the rainy season is over.
The Zambians have been practising this for many years and it has become an annual ceremony.
This has saved lives, maintained cultural and traditional practices as well as protecting the environment.
This has also acted as a successful component of records management that during the rainy season, on these particular dates, a serious ritual has to take place.
This practice has helped Zambians in the Western province to restore operations during or after the flooding period.
Record keeping of disaster zone areas should ensure that the country has systems in place for the management of information and assets in order to guarantee their availability in a timely manner.
This is also important in ensuring that sensitive information is identified, classified and handled appropriately, so that those who would want to carry out context-specific research in those areas will not be viewed suspiciously.
Protection of information is vital in this case so that the classified information will be accessible to those, who seriously want to carry out studies, research and come up with new knowledge for the benefit of the country and the environment.
Even the interventions to mitigate disasters in this country still remain haphazard and sporadic in the face of uncertainties.
Collective efforts from a variety of discourse communities and sectorial affiliations are needed so as to maintain sanity and resilience.
There must also be a link between disaster risk management and sustainable records management to streamline and mitigate operations.
If the record inventory is well kept and maintained, operation costs would be reduced and uncertainties will be managed appropriately.
As is the case in Zimbabwe right now, the government and responsible authorities do not want to be seen near victims of disasters because they are afraid of servicing costs of rehabilitating these victims.
But if the responsible authorities had invested in record management and placed it at the heart of disaster risk reduction, they will not fear anything.
It is also an open secret that neglecting of records of disaster zones, will compromise risk management.
Normally the cost of poor record keeping and planning is an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe like the recent Tsholotsho disaster.
Lack of disaster preparedness is a result of poor record keeping and planning also. Sustainable record planning and management will serve as critical communication tools for resilience.
Documentation of the Chingwizi and Tsholotsho experiences will help the relevant sectors and authorities to prepare for potential future disasters and emergences.
The government should also improve on its post-disaster consultations in which all stakeholders come together to map out best practices, reflecting on lessons learnt as well as noting down areas for improvement.
Poor record keeping and management can deprive those in charge the critical information that they dearly need to resume operations and move forward.
As a result, this will cause post flood victims to lose confidence in the government interventions as well as its ability to cater for their needs and protect their interests.
Lastly, there is nothing more demeaning than seeing a father losing the respect and trust of his own family because he would have failed to be a proactive father.
Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his own capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected]
