Climate Change Vulnerability Hotspots in The East African Indian Ocean Islands

Abstract

This report is the first of its kind of the four island countries of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) that maps the climate change vulnerabilities of each and provide a regional comparison. Climate change and its related disasters remain topical on the agenda of IOC. Drought, floods, seawater rise and cyclones are predominant in the Indian Ocean Islands. Studies show countries such as Madagascar annually experiences over 100 million USD direct losses from earthquakes, floods, and tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones and associated floods, storm surges and winds are by far the most significant risks, accounting for 98% of the annual average loss. On 14 March 2020, The New Humanitarian journalism platform reported, “Southern Madagascar has been hammered by two years of drought that has left 1.5 million people – half the region’s population – facing extreme hunger”. It is also reported that climate-related disasters such as cyclones and floods also cause about 64% of the nearly USD 5.7 million direct losses from disasters in Comoros. The entire Indian Ocean region is also marked as being at risk of a tsunami.