By Chilungamo Missi

Blantyre, August 10, Mana: Commissioner for Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), Charles Kalemba has said his department was geared to improve disaster preparedness and response having learned from challenges that were encountered when the country was hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy (TCF).

He was speaking on Thursday during the opening of a two-day post-action review meeting in Blantyre aimed at reflecting on how different sectors and stakeholders faired during the TCF response.

Kalemba said that the reflection meeting would enable the country do better next time it experiences a similar situation as each and every sector and cluster would be assessed saying that Malawi wants to build resilience which cannot be achieved if relevant pillars are not properly assessed.

“We warned people of the impending cyclone however we were focused on flooding, we did not anticipate mudslides and landslides, now it means that on paper we know the hazards that can impact us but we are not holistically looking at those hazards and are prepared for them.

“We need to be always prepared in terms of what people will eat and where people should go when disasters hit. Because we had no places designed for people that needed shelter then. During the disaster people had to run to schools which showed a lack of preparedness,” he said.

The Commissioner added that the department was committed to making sure that people living in disaster-prone areas have relocated to safer areas saying the process already started in Chiradzulu, Nsanje, Phalombe, Mangochi and Mulanje adding that in other districts land was yet to be identified in order to carry out the same process.

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Rebecca Adda Dontoh underscored the importance of coordination among stakeholders involved in the disaster response.

She said, “Coordination is very important in every humanitarian action, it reduces transactional costs and reduces duplication that takes away the minimum resources we already have.

“In this review meeting, we are looking forward to reflecting on how UN humanitarian actors, government, and everybody coordinated in the TCF preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience.”