Assessing risk awareness and emergency preparedness among people in flood prone areas of Chibavi and Chiputula in Mzuzu city, northern Malawi

Abstract

Background Mzuzu City which is located in the Northern part of Malawi receives heavy rainfall which often results into floods in most low lying areas within the city. The mostly affected townships are Chibavi and Chiputula with a population of 15,805 and 6,825 respectively. Despite this problem, there is paucity of studies on individual and community emergency preparedness to mitigate natural disasters such as floods in Malawi. With this backdrop, this study assessed the risk awareness and emergency preparedness among people in the flood prone areas of Chibavi and Chiputula in Mzuzu City. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to explore risk awareness and emergency preparedness among people in the flood prone areas of Chibavi and Chiputula in Mzuzu City, Northern Malawi. Materials and Methods This community-based study was a quantitative approach that followed a cross-sectional descriptive design. The study population were people in the townships of Chibavi and Chiputula. Data was collected on social demographic, flood risks awareness and avoidance measures and emergency preparedness measures. Multistage sampling technique was used to select participants in Chibavi and One-stage Cluster sampling was used to select participants in Chiputula. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. SSPS version 20.0, was used to analyze data. Percentages were used to determine participants’ on flood risks and risks avoidance, and participants’ knowledge on emergency preparedness. Chi-square and Fishers Exact tests were used to test the association of social demographic factors with knowledge of flood risks and emergency preparedness. Chi-square test was further used to test the association between risk awareness (independent variable) and emergency preparedness (dependent variable). A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results The majority (67.6%) of study participants were females. Further, the findings showed that most (40.7%) of the study participants were of the ages ranging from 35-49 years. However, the findings showed no statistically significant association between age with risk awareness and emergency preparedness when tested using Chi-square and Fishers Exact tests. Furthermore, the majority (62.7%) of study participants had experienced flooding and the results indicated that the majority (61.8%) of study participants had knowledge of the flood risks. The majority (71.8%) reported moving to a safer place as a means of avoiding flood risks. However, the findings of this study showed that people do not have knowledge of emergency preparedness despite having knowledge of the flood risks. This observed association of risk awareness and emergency preparedness was tested to be statistically significant by Chi-square test (p-value = 0.000). Conclusion People in Mzuzu city are not prepared for an emergency during floods. This was revealed in this study by a lack of common understanding on how to prepare for an emergency. Therefore, suggestion for Mzuzu city council to facilitate the implementation of a disaster risk management plan could help to mitigate flood effects.