{"id":21556,"date":"2019-03-22T12:35:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T11:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=21556"},"modified":"2023-07-21T10:54:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T08:54:59","slug":"waking-up-to-idai-when-extreme-weather-hits-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/21556\/waking-up-to-idai-when-extreme-weather-hits-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Waking up to Idai. When extreme weather hits home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zimbabwe is a small country often known for its political and economic drama. But for those who truly know the country, they will tell you about its friendly people and idyllic weather. My father would often comment on just how perfect the weather in Zimbabwe was. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s hard to believe those words are describing the country I am seeing on the news right now. Cyclone Idai has left a path of complete destruction in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Millions are affected and the death toll and devastation continues to rise. The UN says this <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wunderground.com\/cat6\/Africas-Hurricane-Katrina-Tropical-Cyclone-Idai-Causes-Extreme-Catastrophe?cm_ven=hp-slot-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">may be the worst disaster to ever hit this region<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst but not the first. Extreme weather events have been increasing in the region over the years:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This planting season, Zimbabwe experienced a mid-season drought <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/news.trust.org\/item\/20190312090216-7biwh\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">caused by unusually high temperatures<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, threatening the harvest.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2000 both Mozambique and Zimbabwe were battered by Cyclone Eline.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>And <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2018-11-receding-malawi-lake-climate.html\">experts say<\/a> the drying up of Malawi\u2019s Lake Chilwa has increased due to climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_21557\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21557\" class=\"size-large wp-image-21557\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Locals stand beside a damaged section of the road between Beira and Chimoio \u00a9 ADRIEN BARBIER\/AFP\/Getty Images\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/5b83b0a8-gettyimages-1131512075.jpg 1231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-21557\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Locals stand beside a damaged section of the road between Beira and Chimoio in Nhamatanda district, central Mozambique, on March 19, 2019, after the area was hit by the Cyclone Idai.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The beautiful northeastern region of Zimbabwe, Chimanimani, home to lush green mountain ranges, is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mg.co.za\/article\/2019-03-20-zim-cyclone-survivors-tearfully-list-dead-relatives\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hardest hit in the country<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Roads, phone lines and homes have been destroyed and lives have been lost. Like many Zimbabweans in the diaspora, I felt frustrated being so far from home. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But after posting a plea on social media to find out how I could help, I was overwhelmed by the response. Despite the difficulties facing many in Zimbabwe, individuals, organisations, communities across the country <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DougColtart\/status\/1108616457301172224\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">came together<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and used their collective power to mobilise in mass and provide relief to those most affected.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21558\" style=\"width: 970px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21558\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21558\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/be46d332-dumi.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteers packing donations for those affected by Cyclone Idai \u00a9 Benevolent Masora for BLCK Media \" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/be46d332-dumi.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/be46d332-dumi-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/be46d332-dumi-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2019\/03\/be46d332-dumi-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-21558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Huge numbers of volunteers worked with local charities to mobilise donations for Cyclone Idai victims \u00a9 BLCK Media<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our planet\u2019s climate continues to change and it\u2019s upsetting to see the most vulnerable bear the worst of the devastating impacts. It\u2019s worrying to know that this will not be the last time an event like this occurs at home, and it\u2019s angering to know that this is something that leadership, not only in Africa but around the world, can take action on. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Climate change policy can no longer afford to be a side event to economic and social development in Zimbabwe and other African countries. The world needs to urgently act on its commitment to the Paris Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But as more volunteers and communities take action, I\u2019m reminded that we are not helpless in all of this. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/climate-justice\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People-powered movements<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are growing and demanding more climate action from governments and corporations than ever before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many are still in need of aid as the impact of Cyclone Idai slowly starts to be evident. Here are some organisations working to help those most affected:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.savethechildren.org\/site\/Donation2?df_id=3241&amp;mfc_pref=T&amp;3241.donation=form1\">Save the Children<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/donate.doctorswithoutborders.org\/onetime.cfm\">M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/media.ifrc.org\/ifrc\/donate\/\">International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also take action and stand up for climate justice by joining the movement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/climate-justice\/\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Kudzayi Ngwerume is a content editor with Greenpeace International<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cyclone Idai has left a path of complete destruction in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Roads, phone lines and homes have been destroyed and lives have been lost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":21557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[89,113],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-21556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-and-economic-systems","tag-climate","tag-extreme-weather","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21556"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47314,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21556\/revisions\/47314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21556"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=21556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}