Flood disaster risk management and humanitarian interventions in the Zambezi River Basin: Implications for adaptation to climate change

This review article examines the challenges that flood disasters in the Zambezi basin pose to development, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and humanitarian interventions. It analyses how interventions address these challenges to identify how to reduce vulnerability to floods. Data are examined from disaster database entries from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Emergency Database, and scientific articles and other literature. Results show that development interventions and DRR are not keeping pace with the vulnerability of the population affected by flood events, as humanitarian interventions seem to dominate. The article highlights the significant role played by international humanitarian agencies, the challenges posed by inadequate preparedness and weak collaboration, the exclusion of the vulnerable from active participation, and the frequent declaration of states of emergency. If these challenges are not addressed, climate change will exacerbate humanitarian crises and competition for humanitarian aid resources. Changes in social factors that do not require finance can improve flood disaster risk management. Accessing funding for adaptation for use in DRR can further alleviate the severity of flood impacts, but development interventions remain crucial for addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability.