5 datasets found

This dataset contains layers for manuscript 'Capturing the complete landslide–debris-rich flood continuum for accurate inventory, susceptibility and exposure mapping – lessons from Cyclone Idai'. They provide a comprehensive analysis of impact, susceptibility and exposure to landslide and associated debris-rich floods in the Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, Zimbabwe. This work was carried out within the framework of the UNESCO project BE-RESILIENT Zimbabwe, funded by the World Bank and managed by the UNOPS Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project. We also acknowledge support from BELSPO STEREO-IV LACTOSE project. The authors thank the local authorities who facilitated data collection and fieldwork in eastern Zimbabwe.

Outcome of the 'Visual Inspection for Defining the Safety Upgrading Strategies’ (VISUS) approach to assess the school safety in the Chimanimani District after the Cyclone Idai. A VISUS survey across 15 schools in the Chimanimani district was conducted to gauge rehabilitation needs and identify key areas to build resilience.

Natural disasters frequently damage or destroy school infrastructure, jeopardizing educational opportunities and putting school children's lives in danger. This was experienced by children and staff members in Zimbabwe, Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in particular during cyclone Idai which hit eastern Zimbabwe in 2019 and the cyclones that followed. More than 140 schools were affected by the floods and the land slides. The situation at St. Charles Lwanga High School, where 200 children, teachers and support staff were stranded for two days and had to face the cyclone, shows the importance of safe school infrastructure. To better prepare for such eventualities, UNESCO through the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project funded by World Bank and managed by UNOPS collaborated with the University of Udine and the University of Zimbabwe to implement the VISUS (Visual Inspection for Defining the Safety Upgrading Strategies), a multi-hazard school safety assessment methodology that help policymakers decide where to focus risk reduction efforts based on available resources and scientific evidence. The VISUS methodology helps assess schools using a holistic, multi-hazard approach that considers five aspects: site conditions, structural performance, local structural criticalities, non-structural components, and functional aspects. The methodology has also been improved to consider outbreak of disease such as COVID-19. The VISUS methodology was conceived as an effective decision making tool for planning risk mitigation actions. The project helped mainstream school safety components into the UNOPS’ School Rehabilitation Program and could contribute to the Civil Protection Unit’s School Disaster Education Programme. The team’s efforts also assisted in making investments decisions to strengthen the safety of schools efficiently and economically.

Reports and datasets generated as part of the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) implemented in the Chimanimani Districts, in response to Cyclone Idai and to build resilience of local communities to climate change impacts.

Zimbabwe is exposed to multiple weather-related hazards, suffering from frequent periodic cyclones, droughts, floods, and related epidemics and landslides. On 15 March 2019, tropical Cyclone Idai hit eastern Zimbabwe, and at least 172 deaths were reported, more than 186 people were injured and 327 were missing, while over 270,000 people were affected across nine districts, particularly in Chimanimani and Chipinge. Of those affected, 20,002 households (61.5%) or 100,106 people (74.2% of the 2012 population) were in Chimanimani. Meanwhile, ecosystem damage also occurred where boulders and mud were dumped downhill, affecting wildlife habitats, water quality, tourism activities and usability of land resources. The cyclone’s aftermath has therefore increased environmental risks, which will in turn affect local adaptation. Loss of vegetation cover means the natural defense against future flood waters and landslides is no longer available. Similar events in future are therefore likely to cause even more destruction. The overall objective of the initiative is therefore to reduce the vulnerability of communities in the Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts and landslides; and to enhance water resource management as well as ecosystem services in response to the uncertainty of future climate change. The project is designed to approach the water-related risk and vulnerability through an integrated strategy that targets several aspects of disaster risk reduction, and provides scalable implementation of the project through a modular pathway and the development of case studies in target flood and landslide prone areas.