Conceptualization and management of disasters and climate change events in Africa: a review

In recent times, disaster events such as droughts and floods have been on the increase in Africa. For instance, between 2017 and 2022, the number of disaster events in the continent increased by 88%.  This increasing frequency of disaster events in the continent is also accompanied by a rise in human impacts – from 13.5 million people affected in 2017 to 110.4 million affected in 2022. The continent recorded a 16.4% increase in disaster-related deaths between 2017 and 2022. 

This paper explores how well disasters are understood by disaster researchers in Africa and how disaster studies can be well organized to capture all aspects of disasters. This is because these experts are usually the primary point of contact in governmental and non-governmental efforts in disaster management. Thus, they are key stakeholders in achieving disaster resilience in Africa.