The need for new approaches to disaster management; the floods in Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

The need for new approaches to disaster management; the floods in Lusaka, Zambia considers the inadequacies in the official response to floods in Zambia in 1989, especially for those living in squatter settlements in Lusaka, and the failure to take action prior to the floods to mitigate their impacts. The author also describes how relief operations generally fail to address the priorities of those most affected by disasters and argues for the integration of mitigation and reconstruction activities into development programmes.