Examining Disaster Preparedness and Management in Command Centers: A Case Study of Lusaka District

For a long time now, Zambia has been exposed to a variety of hazards and disasters and the frequency of their occurrence and magnitude has been increasing. These disasters have had a negative impact on the economy, having caused loss of life, damage to property and degradation of the environment. Tremendous setbacks in economic growth and development have also been the main result, as scarce national resources have had to be redirected from productive investments to relief and emergency operations. This study examined disaster preparedness and management in command centers of Lusaka district in Zambia. The study addressed the following specific objectives: To examine disaster preparedness and management at DMMU command centers in Lusaka; To evaluate the effectiveness of disaster preparedness interventions in disaster areas; To establish challenges in disaster preparedness and management processes in DMMU command centers. The sample size of this study was 50 respondents who were selected from various DMMU command centres in Lusaka. This research study used both quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as surveys and focus group interviews. The key findings highlighted the strategies, protocols, procedures, and interventions implemented at command centers. The results also highlighted the challenges faced at DMMU command centers in addressing disasters effectively 24% being failure to consistently document experiences and outcomes which in turn leads to loss of valuable insights, 26% is that organizational inertia may hinder the adoption of new strategies based on past lessons, 28% being difficulty in consolidating information from different agencies which complicates the integration of lessons learned, and 22% being the absence of formal evaluation mechanisms which may prevent systematic learning from previous disasters. Despite the challenges, DMMU command centers strive to ensure the implementation of effective interventions to enhance resilience and recovery of communities from disasters. Preliminary findings suggested a significant correlation between implementation of effective interventions and the impact on resilience and recovery of communities. These findings hold crucial implications for policymakers, highlighting the importance of implementing effective interventions which enhance the impact of disaster preparedness and management efforts by command center and how they help reduce the negative impact of disasters on the community such as loss of life and property