An investigation into the challenges encountered by the community during the Tokwe-Mukosi rapid onset flood disaster in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The research investigates the nature of the challenges encountered by the community during a rapid-onset flood hazard in Tokwe-Mukosi, Zimbabwe which occurred in the 2013-2014 rainy season. The pressure and release model and the access model formed the theoretical frameworks which underpin this study. The study was grounded in a qualitative methodology, with focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews as the main tools for soliciting data. Purposive sampling was used in selecting participants for the study. The study examined challenges encountered during and after the flood disaster by the Tokwe-Mukosi community. It analysed difficulties facing community members during the disaster when flooding impeded attempts to evacuate to new and safer areas. The study further assessed community losses of livestock, food stocks, and important infrastructure such as schools and homes, as well as outcomes including deaths by drowning, and improper burials of the dead. The investigation reviewed issues of resettlement shelter, sanitation facilities, diseases associated with protracted humanitarian situations such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malnutrition, malaria, cholera and typhoid, and infrastructure, notably roads. In the longer term, the Tokwe-Mukosi community lacked schools in the new settlements. This led to school dropouts, and adolescent prostitution. The community also lacked medical facilities which resulted in patients defaulting on their treatments, especially those who were on Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART), and children who had been received vaccines under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), also failed to get vaccinated. The study also noted increases in domestic violence, notably violence against women. The study concludes with recommendations extrapolated from the research data for dealing with future rapid-onset disasters.