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Cyclone Freddy, or at least the downgraded tropical storm we might all hope it has become, is moving over Zimbabwe today, with the edges of its swirling clouds entering last night, and the Cabinet has put the whole of the eastern half of Zimbabwe on alert, to be prepared for the worst.

Depending on how bad Freddy is after crossing Mozambique, some of the preparations might be unnecessary, although bad storms always cause some damage and a big bad storm will cause some damage over a wide area.

But complacency is the killer, complacency at both national level and local level, yet if all communities are prepared, then loss of life can be avoided even if there is severe damage, and the alert, combined with the activation of disaster plans already drawn up, means that our communities are prepared.

Zimbabwe has always had to deal with the odd cyclone, with global warming increasing their frequency and severity. But until March 2019 the preparations were largely limited to what would be a major storm and these ordinary preparations were adequate.

Then came Cyclone Idai, the worst cyclone to hit Zimbabwe in living memory, and by that we mean that not even the oldest people in the Eastern Highlands could remember anything so bad in their lifetimes, right from when great grandparents were little children. 

Idai was a whole quantum jump worse than what we had experienced, especially when it came to flooding, and along with the bridges swept away and roads made almost impassable, the trees uprooted and the damage to buildings, something that could not be avoided, several hundred  people were killed and more were missing, presumed drowned, as villages and homesteads were swept away by floods.

Now that we knew just how bad the worst cyclones could be, far worse than we had coped with in the past, a lot of planning was put in place, to ensure that people could be moved to safety in time and that relief efforts could be started immediately with supplies already in place near where the worst could happen, and if necessary people could be pointed in the right direction to run.

Since then we have had cyclones, some fairly serious although nothing as bad as Idai, and each time the alert is given and the preparations made.

The Department of Civil Protection is a fairly small unit, set up to do the advance planning and act as a principle co-ordinator in the event of disaster. 

But that planning and the preparations mean that when disaster threatens, or actually happens, a lot of other units and agencies are mobilised and because of the detailed prior planning and training know precisely what to do and how to react.

One major requirement that came up was the need to make sure everyone who could be affected was warned in advance and then given the correct advice, with escape routes mapped out if evacuation became                                                              necessary. 

Not everyone has internet connections, reads newspapers or even listens to the radio, so other means were put in place to make sure.

This involved using modern technology, basically the ubiquitous mobile phones, to put community leadership on alert, that leadership having already been through the required training to implement the plans. In rural areas this meant using the traditional leadership, all the way from village heads up, plus church leaders, councillors, heads of schools and the like.

Reasonably safe high ground and evacuation points were designated, in advance, so even if the local school or church lost some of its roof, it was at least out of the flood zone and offered some protection, so people would be uncomfortable, but alive.

The district development co-ordinators in every district went through more detailed preparation and training, so these local government civil servants could be effective in their very part-time role as a disaster co-ordinator if something untoward happened in their district, and at provincial level the provincial co-ordinator and the resident minister obviously checked everything out and were ready to move swiftly to back-up the district and community leadership in every district.

All this is what is meant by going on alert, having everyone who might be needed ready to act in accordance with the plans, and being able to put every village on alert very quickly, with someone in every village knowing what to do to and at least get people to safety if disaster strikes, and knowing who to call for help. 

We have had a couple of cyclones since Idai, nothing as bad as that one but still threatening, and the preparations paid off with communities knowing what to do and doing it, even if this was just staying put in shelter, and then being able to sort out any mess when the cyclone passed. 

The same preparations meant that local and national authorities were able to deal with ordinary bad storms, such as the flooding when a village or suburb was badly sited, or when roof sheets were not fixed as firmly as what was needed. 

There is nothing we can do to stop a cyclone, but there is a lot we can do to ensure we all survive if one hits. 

There is the long-term programmes, making sure we do not build too close to rivers so if they flood at least they do not sweep away houses. 

There is the planning so that those who have to cope, again right down to village and town level, know what to do and when to do it.

And this is why we should all be ready to listen to what we are told to do, show out own common sense, and not be too ready to hope that “it will be all right on the day” and be ready to take the precautions we are asked to take. 

If Freddy degenerates quickly, that is a big plus, but if it has picked up a lot of energy and comes in across the narrow waist of Mozambique, then we will all be grateful that the Government sounded the alert, mobilised the trained personnel, warned the communities and was ready for the worst.