The Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS) program, sponsored by the African Union, has established the Emergency Operation and Communication Center (EOCC) Situation Room in Dodoma, Tanzania. According to Jim J. Yonazi, Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office for Policy, Parliament, and Coordination, this facility will greatly enhance Tanzania’s ability to forecast different kinds of disasters such as floods and droughts.
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, emphasized the significance of the center’s inauguration. He highlighted that the analytical outputs generated by the situation room will play a crucial role in enhancing community preparedness and safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
Supporters of the EOCC Situation Room, such as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), also expressed their approval for the initiative. UNDRR provided two years of technical assistance for the center’s establishment. The collaboration involved the International Center for Environmental Monitoring CIMA Research Foundation and was financially supported by the Government of Italy through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).
The UNDRR Regional Office for Africa recently organized a training workshop aimed at equipping officials with the necessary skills to utilize an open-source system for real-time monitoring and forecasting of natural hazards. This system will play a crucial role in the situation room by issuing advisories, thereby enabling timely and effective early action.
Extensive study conducted by UNDRR has revealed that states with advanced multi-hazard early warning systems witness significantly lower disaster mortality rates compared to those without or with weak systems. In fact, an early warning period of just 24 hours has the potential to reduce damages resulting from disasters by 30%.
Shockingly, UNDRR’s 2023 report on the Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems indicates that only 45% of African countries currently possess such systems.
Two years ago, the network’s initial centers were established. These included three situation rooms dedicated to forecasting, analyzing, monitoring, and responding to hydrometeorological risks. The regional center, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Disaster Operation Centre, is located in Nairobi, Kenya. Additionally, two continental centers were set up: the Continental Situation Room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Advisory Center in Niamey, Niger.
In the meantime, Zimbabwe is preparing to launch its second satellite, ZimSat-2, in November. This satellite will be equipped with advanced sensors and imaging devices to support various applications, such as environmental hazard monitoring and drought management.
