This paper looks at the livelihood changes experienced by the people of Appiatse following a devastating chemical explosion on January 20, 2022. The explosion, triggered by a collision involving a truck carrying explosives, caused widespread destruction in their community, displacing households, destroying infrastructure, and severely disrupting the town’s socioeconomic activities. Hitherto, the community was heavily dependent on agriculture, small-scale mining, and trading, etc. They faced immense challenges as farms, businesses, and essential services were obliterated. This paper contrasts the pre-disaster livelihood conditions with the post-disaster realities. The study highlights key issues, including community resilience, the role of external support, and the impact of the explosion on people's livelihoods. Using data collected from 241 randomly selected adult victims and adopting the Difference-in-difference method, the study found that employment status, income, and external support significantly enhance livelihood outcomes. While vulnerability and divorce are associated with poorer recovery. While household size and marital status initially appear influential, their effects are moderated when more contextual variables are included. Notably, informal and risky employment, such as illegal mining, emerges as a vital survival strategy, and perceptions of government responses significantly shape recovery experiences. The models explain a high proportion of the variation in outcomes ( R 2 ≈ 0.95), underscoring the robustness of the selected variables. These results underscore the importance of comprehensive recovery frameworks that consider social structures, economic integration, and institutional trust.
Dasmani et al. (Mon,) studied this question.