- Title
- Economic Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Assessment in Malawi and Mozambique
- License
- Public Domain (PD)
-
+ Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.
+ For more info see http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html. - Abstract
- Highly variable climate in Malawi and Mozambique has a significant influence on the amount, tim- ing, and frequency of precipitation events and runoff patterns, which results in frequent recurrent droughts and floods. In Malawi rainfall varies considerably both seasonally and from year to year. the country has one of the most erratic rainfall patterns in Africa. Between 1967 and 2003, the country experienced six major droughts, affecting over 21 million people in total. Floods occur in southern Malawi, particularly in the Lower Shire river valley and the lakeshore areas of Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe and Lake chilwa, as well as in the lower reaches of the Songwe river in the northern region. Between 1967 and 2003, 18 floods were recorded killing at least 570 people, rendering 132,000 homeless, and affecting a total of 1.8 million people. Flooding also damages property and infrastructure, impeding drainage of agricultural lands and causing crop damage. In Mozambique, drought is the most frequent natural disaster, occuring every three to four years. Mozambique has areas that are classified as semi-arid and arid where rain—even when above average—is inadequate, resulting in critical water shortage and limited agriculture productivity. It is estimated that droughts contributed to about 4,000 deaths between 1980 and 2000. A number of geographical factors cause floods in Mozambique, which give rise to high coefficients of rainfall variability. the country is situated downstream of nine major international river basins. It lies in the path of tropical cyclones formed in the Indian ocean and is affected by three to four cyclones a year. In 2000, Mozambique experienced its worst floods in 50 years, killing about 100 people and displacing 540,000.
- Publication Date
- April 30, 2010, 11:49 a.m.
- Category
- Geoscientific Information
- information pertaining to earth sciences. Examples: geophysical features and processes, geology, minerals, sciences dealing with the composition, structure and origin of the earth s rocks, risks of earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, gravity information, soils, permafrost, hydrogeology, erosion
- Regions
- Malawi , Mozambique
- Responsible
- andy
- Language
- English
- Supplemental Information
- river_flood
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