As the 2025/2026 rainfall season approaches, authorities at the Regional Climate Resilience Program (RCRP-2) are sounding the alarm on the importance of community-led disaster preparedness.
The initiative, designed to strengthen community resilience to water-related climate shocks, stresses that well-informed communities equipped with disaster-prevention knowledge are the most effective line of defense in disaster-prone areas.
During a recent RCRP-2 project orientation in Blantyre, Flemmings Nyirenda, Deputy Project Coordinator for the National Local Government Finance Committee emphasized the critical role of early warnings and clear communication in saving lives and property.
“With early warnings and well-articulated and clarified information targeting communities that are heavily affected by disasters, lives and properties can be saved,” Nyirenda said.
Nyirenda has since urged journalists to play a vital role in disseminating climate-wise information in local languages, ensuring communities understand and act on warnings.
“We need to intensify the dissemination of climate-wise information that is simplified in local languages for easy adherence to warnings by the communities,” he said.
Funded by the World Bank, RCRP-2 is working to strengthen disaster preparedness and response by building capacity for early warnings, restoring critical infrastructure and water systems, and empowering communities and local authorities in 28 districts, including Zomba and Blantyre City councils.
The initiative aims to enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate-related disasters, recognizing that community empowerment is key to effective disaster management.