VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF FLOODS IN HOST REGIONS: A CASE STUDY OF T/A MAKHWIRA IN CHIKWAWA DISTRICT

Contrary to the nature of occurrence of floods in local authorities of Malawi like Chikwawa, floods have a social and economic face and should also be understood as a socio-economic disaster other than natural disasters only. A study was carried out in two villages of T/A Makhwira in Chikwawa, Malawi, to understand the levels and extent of socio-economic vulnerability people to floods in the lower shire. Assessment of the vulnerabilities of people in the area was critically reviewed with pressure and release model (PAR), GIS & statistical analysis. Data was collected from the communities through interviews, a questionnaire & a desk study using the fifth Household integrated survey [IHS5] & Malawi housing and population census 2018 complemented by geospatial analysis. It was found out that the socio-economic vulnerability is high in the study area, affecting a large segment of the population due to vulnerability conditions such as exposure to the flood zone, Poverty, poor settlements/poor housing, and reliance on rain-fed agriculture as their elite source of income. Those with a low score of access to resources (financial, human, material, physical & technical) and near to flood risk zone were more vulnerable.

Contrary to the nature of occurrence of floods in local authorities of Malawi like Chikwawa, floods have a social and economic face and should also be understood as a socio-economic disaster other than natural disasters only. A study was carried out in two villages of T/A Makhwira in Chikwawa, Malawi, to understand the levels and extent of socio-economic vulnerability people to floods in the lower shire. Data was collected from the communities through interviews, a questionnaire & a desk study using the fifth Household integrated survey [IHS5] & Malawi housing and population census 2018 complemented by geospatial analysis. It was found out that the socio-economic vulnerability is high in the study area, affecting a large segment of the population due to vulnerability conditions such as exposure to the flood zone, Poverty, poor settlements/poor housing, and reliance on rain-fed agriculture as their elite source of income.

The study was conducted in Chikwawa district, the southern region of Malawi, specifically in T/A Makhwira whose population is 79,933 (Office, 2006). Chikwawa is one of the poorest and prone to floods districts in the country. The study area has been purposively chosen since it is hit by floods almost every rainy season, annually. Most of the people in the area are farmers and their daily livelihood depends on rainfed season agriculture due to good fertile soil that attracts people to the cultivation of crops without applying inorganic fertilizer although the crops are always washed away by flooding water during the rainy season (Mtembenuzeni & Kushe, 2018). Poverty, lack of land due to rapid population growth has encouraged many households to be established in marginalized areas that are prone to flooding. There is a lack of economic diversification, low employment opportunity, and low access to social services, making people, property, and the environment to be susceptible socially and economically to flood risk. The study was conducted in two random villages of the traditional authority namely; Zing’ando & Mtembo. The study targets to get information from only those residents aged 20 above in the area who had experienced and survived flood event(s).

Traditional authority: TA Makhwira

District: Chikwawa

Coordinates: -16.2776, 35.0011