Too small to count? The cumulative impacts and policy implications of small disasters in the Sahel

• Published in: International journal of disaster risk reduction 2022-01, Vol.68, p.102687, Article 102687
• Main Authors: Brennan, Mark E., Danielak, Silvia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cumulative disaster; DesInventar; Disaster planning; Sahel; Small disaster
• ISSN: 2212-4209; 2212-4209
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102687

Despite extensive research on disasters induced by natural hazards and climate change, the cumulative effect of many smaller events remains relatively understudied. This is especially true in the Sahel, an increasingly important zone in terms of disaster risk reduction. To what extent do small disasters cumulatively impart substantial losses in the Sahel and how do public and nonprofit decision-makers manage them? To answer these questions, we adopt a mixed methods approach. Analyzing state-level panel data on disasters losses in Senegal and Mali for the decade between 2005 and 2014, we find that small disasters impart as much if not more damage than big disasters and especially affect housing and agriculture. We find that large disasters are concentrated in southern Mali, indicating other areas mainly experiencing small disasters may be overlooked by assistance classically triggered by many deaths from a big event. We distill policy insights from these quantitative findings with ten qualitative interviews, three focus groups, and document analysis. The qualitative findings highlight the challenges of small disasters and the consequences of conflict alongside small disasters. Together, the findings suggest that small disasters lead to significant disruption for vulnerable communities already shouldering burdens of conflict, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. •Small disasters impart higher cumulative losses than large disasters, especially in terms of housing and agricultural damage.•Areas with agricultural and home but not person losses may be overlooked by assistance classically triggered by many deaths.•Local governments in principle govern disaster risk, but can be absent because of, or preoccupied with, conflict.•Setting small-disaster policy has features of a development rather than humanitarian challenge.