When the unprecedented becomes precedented: Learning from Cyclones Idai and Kenneth

The Post Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology developed by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, in collaboration with the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-International (ISET) in 2013, provides a structured method for examining why a hazard becomes a disaster. Utilized 17 times before to examine cyclones, floods, and wildfires in different contexts around the world, this study, which examines the 2019 Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth impacts in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, marks the first time this methodology has been applied to disasters in southern Africa. This report has been developed by members of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance – ISET-International, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Practical Action, and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. – and in collaboration with the Mozambique Red Cross and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The study focuses on why Cyclones Idai and Kenneth resulted in disasters in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, taking into account the specific country contexts. It draws on five weeks of field work, over 100 interviews with stakeholders from government, UN agencies, donors, NGOs and humanitarian response agencies, academics, and community members, and the review of over 100 secondary sources to highlight key opportunities for building resilience.