MASERU – The Disaster Management Authority (DMA) has urged Basotho to distinguish between individual emergencies requiring immediate local assistance and disasters that overwhelm the capacity of communities and require a national response.
Acting District Disaster Manager at the DMA, Mrs Sophie Ralejoe, said the authority receives numerous calls from people seeking assistance, but not every incident qualifies as a disaster.
“People are hurting, and we see that. We are working tirelessly to help those in dire need,” Mrs Ralejoe said in an interview. “But sadly, our offices are attacked because people think we don’t want to help. The truth is, we’re trying to send them to the right place.”
Mrs Ralejoe said the DMA conducts on-site assessments in areas reported to be at risk of disasters to verify information received, determine the extent of the damage and establish whether intervention is required.
She said the assessments also help officials determine whether an incident meets the threshold for an official disaster declaration and identify areas requiring assistance.
According to Mrs Ralejoe, the DMA intervenes when an incident overwhelms the capacity of the affected community and local structures to respond.
She cited widespread flooding affecting entire villages or large numbers of residents, major fires displacing several families, large-scale crop failure threatening food security, earthquakes and severe storms causing extensive damage as examples of situations that may require a national disaster response.
“A disaster means local chiefs, councils and clinics cannot cope alone. That is when we activate national resources,” she explained.
However, Mrs Ralejoe said many of the calls received by the DMA concern individual emergencies that could be addressed more quickly by other institutions.
“Calling us for a single roof that blew off delays help for 200 families whose village was flooded,” she said.
She stressed that every call is assessed, but incidents considered individual emergencies are referred to offices better positioned to provide immediate assistance.
Mrs Ralejoe said the assessment process sometimes creates tension as people may interpret referrals to institutions such as Social Welfare as a rejection of their pleas for assistance.
“People call our office in abundance seeking help. We ask questions to find out if the incident should be treated as a disaster or just ordinary aid. When we say ‘this goes to Social Welfare,’ some people feel we are rejecting them,” she said.
She appealed to Basotho to first consider the scale of an incident before contacting the DMA.
“Be aware. Before you call, ask: ‘Is this affecting just me or my home, or is my whole community impacted?’ If it is just you, call your chief, council or Social Welfare first. If it is your whole village underwater, then call us. That way we can help the most vulnerable faster,” she said.
Mrs Ralejoe assured the public that the DMA would continue guiding people who seek assistance.
“We will never ignore Basotho in need. We just need everyone to understand the system to help reach where it is needed most,” she said.
A disaster is generally understood as a sudden or calamitous event that causes significant damage, loss of life or serious disruption to a community’s functioning and overwhelms available local resources, thereby requiring a coordinated response.
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