Tropical Storm Hits Five African Countries As Insurers Warned On Climate Change
By John Mungabe
Tropical Storm Ana has passed over northern Madagascar, crossed over to Mozambique and subsequently reached Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, causing 77 deaths and destroying homes of more than 300,000 people.
Late last year, experts were warning of the impact of climate change on southern Africa. In the run-up to COP26, one expert warned: “The region has already been experiencing climate changes that are more rapid, and with impacts that are more severe than the global average. It also struggles with a low adaptive capacity: there’s little capital available for investment in measures to protect against future climate hazards, and very pressing immediate human rights needs for a large proportion of the population.
And in a warning for insurers, Professor Francois Engelbrecht, a leading climatologist and director at the Global Change Institute, has been reported as saying that because of global warming, there is much more energy available for tropical cyclones to become intense.
“My analysis is, and the assessment of the Global Change Institute is, that the risks exist for such an intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in South Africa. It will bring complete chaos and destruction as we’ve never seen before.
“Northeastern South Africa is, for the first time in recorded history, at risk of a Category Three to Category Five hurricane making landfall. The flooding will be enormous. The risk to life will be tremendous for communities living near the rivers in the northeast. We will not be used to 200kph winds, and vulnerable people in informal settlements will seee their roofs and walls ripped off.”
Meanwhile as of 28 January 2022, the Africa CDC said Tropical Storm Ana had resulted in 77 fatalities and more than 300,000 displaced people.
The Africa CDC has warned: “In addition, the destruction of health infrastructure will further limit essential health services, such as immunisation and other clinical services, which will have high potential risk for adverse health consequences including mortalities.
Madagascar has seen at least 48 deaths and 130,000 people have been forced to flee their homes for temporary shelters. In Malawi, most public infrastructures are damaged including healthcare facilities and homes, as well as interruption to basic services and healthcare deliveries to the affected communities. The country has suffered a nationwide power cut and some areas have been declared disaster zones. The government of Malawi declared a state of emergency in the affected region.
In Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Eastern parts of both countries received torrential rainfalls, floods and strong winds from Tropical Storm Ana, but not as severe damage compared to Mozambique and Malawi.
Africa Ahead
