SADC Approves Regional Early-Warning Protocol for Cyclones & Floods

 

 

SADC’s Council of Ministers recently endorsed a new Regional Early-Warning Protocol aimed at improving preparedness for cyclones, floods and heat waves ahead of the 2025/26 season. 

The protocol links national meteorological services into a single alert platform hosted from Gaborone, ensuring uniform advisories across Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and coastal SADC states. 

The move follows repeated criticism that fragmented alerts have cost lives, most notably during Cyclone Freddy. 

Member states will begin phased integration in December. Disaster-risk NGOs have welcomed the development but warn that without local-language dissemination and community training, alerts may still fail to reach vulnerable households.