People’s reluctance to relocate from disaster-prone areas is undermining government efforts to protect communities from climate-related disasters, the Department of Civil Protection has said.
Speaking during a workshop on humanising disaster reporting in the face of climate change held in Bulawayo for young journalists, the Department of Civil Protection representative Tawanda Nyakarombe said authorities had, in some cases, built houses for communities living in high-risk areas, only for some residents to refuse to relocate.
He cited Siphepha in Tsholotsho as an example, saying some villagers had remained in disaster-prone areas despite repeated warnings about the risks.
“For example, the houses built for people for relocation, to say, ‘We have built you these houses, please go and reside that side’, in terms of them wanting to go that side, they don’t want, they still remain where they are vulnerable to disasters,” Nyakarombe said.
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“Us as Government, we try to say this is a place where disaster strikes, but people’s attitude in relocating in that space, it’s a challenge for us to keep on giving early warnings and everything.”
The workshop was organised by Africa Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction (AYAB-DRR) in partnership with Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO) and Zimbabwe Resilience Network (ZIREN) to equip journalists and media practitioners with skills to effectively report on climate-related disasters and their impact on communities.
Nyakarombe’s comments highlight a broader challenge in disaster risk reduction: warnings and infrastructure alone may not be enough to persuade people to leave places where they have established homes, livelihoods and social networks.
For communities living in high-risk areas, relocation can mean more than moving into a safer house. It can disrupt access to livelihoods, schools, health facilities, grazing land and family networks, leaving some residents reluctant to abandon established communities even when they understand the risks.
The concerns come as Zimbabwe moves towards a more proactive approach to disaster management through the proposed Disaster Risk Management Bill.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Civil Protection Act and strengthen disaster prevention, preparedness and risk reduction as climate-related hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones become increasingly disruptive.
It also seeks to strengthen community participation through community-based disaster risk management structures, recognising that communities are often the first to experience and respond to disasters.
“Because the communities are the first and the last responders to disasters. So by incorporating them into these structures, we are also saying disaster risk management is for everyone, not just the Government, but everyone. Let’s be proactive in terms of disasters,” Nyakarombe said.
He said early warning systems and government interventions could only be effective if communities acted on the information provided to them.
The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen disaster preparedness at national, provincial, local authority and community levels, while increasing the representation of women, young people and persons with disabilities in community-based disaster risk management structures.
“Another issue it also mandates the representation of seats and for youth, women and persons with disability, for example, in these community-based disaster structures,” Nyakarombe said.
He said the inclusion of different groups would ensure that their views were considered in disaster risk management and decision-making processes.
The Bill also proposes the establishment of a National Disaster Risk Management Fund and requires local authorities to allocate resources towards disaster risk management.
“Another issue in terms of the Disaster Risk Management Bill is the issue of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund. As a ministry what we have done, each and every budget of each local authority, there’s a set aside percentage for that local authority in terms of responding to disasters,” Nyakarombe said.
“In terms of approval of these budgets, they are not approved if that percentage is not there in terms of responding to disaster. That’s the way we are moving on from now on.”
Nyakarombe said greater emphasis on preparedness was necessary because government could not prevent or respond to disasters alone.
He also highlighted the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in helping communities interpret warning signs and respond to emerging threats.
“It also explicitly incorporates the issue of IKS, which is the Indigenous Knowledge System. So, if you go to rural areas, you see our traditional leaders, elderly, they know these things in terms of IKS,” he said.
He gave examples of traditional observations, including changes in insect populations and other environmental indicators, which communities may interpret as signs of changing weather conditions or impending threats.
The proposed framework, he said, would therefore seek to combine government-led early warning systems with local knowledge and community participation.
For journalists, the workshop highlighted the need to move beyond reporting the destruction caused by floods, droughts and other disasters and examine the human factors that shape how communities respond to risk.
Rather than portraying residents who ignore warnings or resist relocation simply as unwilling to cooperate, disaster reporting should examine why they make those choices and whether relocation options adequately address their social and economic needs.
Understanding those factors can make disaster coverage more people-centred while also holding both authorities and communities accountable for reducing the risks posed by an increasingly unpredictable climate.
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