Assessing Flood Adaptation Measures in Post-Cyclone Recovery and Reconstruction: The 2023 Cyclone Freddy Case in Kachulu, Malawi

Assessing Flood Adaptation Measures in Post-Cyclone Recovery and Reconstruction: The 2023 Cyclone Freddy Case in Kachulu, Malawi | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessing Flood Adaptation Measures in Post-Cyclone Recovery and Reconstruction: The 2023 Cyclone Freddy Case in Kachulu, Malawi Ali Taghimolla, Ali Asgary, Mahbod Aarabi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8483450/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy caused severe damage in southern Malawi, flooding much of the lowland area near Lake Chilwa and displacing many residents. This study evaluates long-term, region-specific mitigation strategies to lessen future risks, using a novel approach that combines drone and satellite data, building footprints, and 3D simulations to analyze how building elevation affects flood damage and assess Property-Level Flood Risk Adaptation measures. Results show a significant difference in ground elevation between affected and unaffected buildings, with damaged structures generally at lower levels. The 3D simulation confirmed a water-level rise of approximately 3.0 meters caused by Freddy. Scenario analysis indicates that elevating buildings by 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 meters could prevent 64%, 76%, and 91% of damage, respectively. These insights can inform the development of targeted regional risk mitigation strategies through Property-Level Flood Risk Adaptation in high-risk areas. Cyclone Freddy Malawi Lake Chilwa Flooding Property-Level Flood Risk Adaptation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8483450","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":567735423,"identity":"11fce142-8591-4c20-8e52-c0432573a020","order_by":0,"name":"Ali Taghimolla","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"York University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ali","middleName":"","lastName":"Taghimolla","suffix":""},{"id":567735424,"identity":"7b2b0143-b950-4721-a7cf-b73ac8dbe0e1","order_by":1,"name":"Ali 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Malawi","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Cyclone Freddy, Malawi, Lake Chilwa, Flooding, Property-Level Flood Risk 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This study evaluates long-term, region-specific mitigation strategies to lessen future risks, using a novel approach that combines drone and satellite data, building footprints, and 3D simulations to analyze how building elevation affects flood damage and assess Property-Level Flood Risk Adaptation measures. Results show a significant difference in ground elevation between affected and unaffected buildings, with damaged structures generally at lower levels. The 3D simulation confirmed a water-level rise of approximately 3.0 meters caused by Freddy. Scenario analysis indicates that elevating buildings by 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 meters could prevent 64%, 76%, and 91% of damage, respectively. 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