Planning for Climate and Cyclone Resilient Transport Infrastructures in Southern Africa: Lessons from Zimbabwe

Transport infrastructure is imperative for many purposes. What is most important is ensuring that planning and implementation of transport infrastructure is conducted appropriately. However, little is known and discussed in southern Africa about the planning and implementation of transport infrastructures, which are resilient to adverse weather conditions. The responses to the destruction of transport infrastructure in most cases do not meet the needs of affected communities. Consequently, this chapter focuses on the imperatives that should be adopted during transport infrastructure development processes, based on the Zimbabwean experience. A case study research design and mixed method approach was adopted, where Manicaland province in Zimbabwe was investigated using spatial and qualitative research approaches. Both content and spatial analysis were used to analyse textual data gathered from the field. Findings indicate that the study area suffered severe damages in transport infrastructures, particularly roads, bridges and railways during cyclones Idai and Kenneth that affected countries in southern Africa. The work draws conclusions about the extent of destruction and the nature of responses by relevant authorities to transport infrastructure needs during and after the cyclones. It makes recommendations for ameliorating damage in the event of further such incidents.