EVALUATION OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH UNDER MITIGATION OF FLOODS IN CHIKWAWA DISTRICT, MALAWI
Abstract
The present study was conducted in Lower Shire in Malawi about evaluation of factors associated with under mitigation of floods in Chikwawa district, Malawi. The study adopted descriptive correlation study design. The study employed Slovin formula to compute the sample size of 171 participants who are majorly victims of flood in the Lower Shire region. Participants included government officials who were interviewed and also victims in which questionnaires were administered to them. The findings of the study revealed that mode of coordination of government disaster response agencies mean, 2.16 was low. The overall rating was 2.1; this shows that the respondents do not agree that the government involve them in the mitigation of the disaster. There is a statistically significant relationship between mode of coordination of government disaster response agencies and involvement of affected communities. This means that as the government involves the affected communities, also the mode of coordination and response to the disaster improves. The p value is 0.00<0.05 and the Pearson Correlation r is 0.67.The study concluded that the government does not involve the affected communities in disaster response and mitigation. The government of Malawi exhibit poor coordination during disaster strike. There is a direct correlation between the government mode of coordination and involvement of the affected communities and recommended that the government should involve the affected communities for better mitigation of the disaster. The government of Malawi should improve the mode of communication by involving victims in mitigation and training.