Testing regional disaster preparedness and response: SADC's cyclone and flood simulation exercise at the SHOC

From 27 to 31 July, the Southern African Development Community and its partners ran a five-day Regional Cyclone and Flood Response Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) in Nacala, Mozambique. The scenario was a severe tropical cyclone and widespread flooding affecting several SADC Member States, testing regional early warning systems, emergency coordination mechanisms, rapid deployment procedures and cross-border interoperability under real pressure.

At the centre of it was the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC), which acted as the regional operational hub for hazard monitoring, situational awareness and response coordination. This matters: SHOC is no longer a plan on paper. Its Emergency Response Teams have already deployed to Mozambique, South Africa and Madagascar during the 2025/26 cyclone season, and the SIMEX allowed the Centre to stress-test those capacities in a controlled setting.

Disasters do not respect borders. The SADC (SHOC), based in Nacala, Mozambique, strengthens Southern Africa's ability to respond rapidly and efficiently to cross-border threats, protecting communities before crises escalate. Its situation room monitors hazards and weather forecasts in real time, and the Centre provides strategic and policy support to facilitate the cross-border movement of humanitarian supplies, pre-positions relief items in strategic locations, supports search and rescue, and trains regional emergency response teams.

EU support has been central to making the SHOC operational. Through the DRRP, the EU has funded SADC under the project Disaster Risk Management Strengthening in SADC (DRMSS) which funded the Centre's equipment, the training of its staff and the standard operating procedures it needs to function.

The SIMEX was a genuinely collective effort, bringing together SADC Member States, the European Union and EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), UN OCHA, IFRC, WFP, FAO, IOM, UNDAC, UN-SPIDER and the Regional Anticipatory Action Working Group.