Cyclones in Southern Africa

Book excerpt: The subject of tropical cyclones in Southern Africa, also known as hurricanes or typhoons in other regions of the world, has been growing over the past few decades. However, there is still limited literature on foundational and fundamental topics on the matter. To this end, this book addresses this gap, citing some examples from both historic and recent tropical cyclones. The book presents meteorological and climatic aspects of tropical cyclones, including reviews on forecasting, warning message dissemination and public response aspects of early warning systems with a focus on the Tropical Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. Fundamentals in disaster risk reduction (DRR) are also discussed moving from the provisions of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015), to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030). Climate change issues are central to the publication, as well as the role of information and communication technologies in DRR and management. The book also tackles some challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of regional legal and institutional frameworks on DRR. The book comes as part of a series with three volumes. The other volumes include “Cyclones in Southern Africa Vol. 1: Interfacing the Catastrophic Impact of Cyclone Idai with SDGs in Zimbabwe” and “Cyclones in Southern Africa Vol 3: Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals”. To this end, this book is suitable as a read for several professionals and disciplines such as tourism and hospitality studies, economics, sustainable development, development studies, environmental sciences, arts, geography, life sciences, politics, planning and public health.