Record Zambezi River Floods Swamp Namibian Towns

WINDHOEK, Namibia, March 31, 2004 (ENS) - The worst flooding in 40 years is threatening towns and villages along much of the Zambezi River, but the area of greatest concern is in the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia 1,600 kilometers from Windoek.

As heavy rains pound the largest town in the Caprivi district, Katima Mulilo, the river is more than 2.5 meters (seven feet) higher than at the same time last year, and those floods were the worst in 10 years, town officials say.

Power failures and a breakdown in communications are making it difficult to handle the emergency. According to the Namibia Red Cross Society, the water continues to rise even in areas that do not normally experience flooding.

Children are using canoes to go to school where they still can, but some villages in low-lying areas are already submerged. In May 2003 the Zambezi burst its banks and displaced some 12,000 people. This year's floods are earlier and have already affected more people than last year.

The Namibian Red Cross is concerned that the rising flood waters will spread disease in a population already weakened by a 43 percent rate of HIV/AIDS infection.

Ferry on the Zambezi River at Katima Mulilo (Photo courtesy WFP)

Thousands of people will have to be moved to higher ground, and the Town Clerk Agnes Limbo says officials met Tuesday to decide on areas for evacuation and relocation.

Food insecurity is common in this area generally, as most people rely on subsistence farming, but a preliminary crop assessment for the Caprivi area by the Namibia Early Warning and Food Information Unit was encouraging.

Now what security and order life usually holds has been completely disrupted by the rising floodwaters that threaten this year's harvest.

The swelling river has disturbed large numbers of elephants that are now in a state of panic running through the fields destroying what crops are still not underwater. Hippos, crocodiles and snakes are also a threat to the population, the Red Cross says.

A Regional Disaster Response team consisting of two members from the Namibia Red Cross and one from the Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross, has been deployed to Caprivi with a regional disaster response officer an information delegate to support the team.

The Zambezi River originates in the highlands of Angola and Zambia, from where it flows into Namibia's Caprivi Strip, through the borders between Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, before reaching Mozambique where it empties into the Indian Ocean.

Every year the Zambezi floods, but this year is the worst since 1958. This child surveyes the flooded river at Chupanga camp in 2001. (Photo courtesy Rolland Baker)

All are suffering from the combined effects of the erratic weather, severe poverty and the worsening HIV/AIDS epidemic. The government estimates that more than 640,000 people, one-third of the population, are in need of food aid.

With limited resources, the Namibian government can give food assistance to some 530,000 people. The WFP will provide 8,000 tons of food to an additional 111,000 rural children and their families in the six northern districts that are the worst affected.

UNICEF Regional Director Per Engebak said, “Even though the rains have arrived, in some cases there are very few adults to plough the fields, because now, like so many of its neighbors in southern Africa, Namibia is starting to feel the full force of HIV/AIDS.

Namibian weather has been so erratic that unprecedent hail fell Tuesday in Windhoek. Only a few months ago, Namibia was appealing for international aid to ease the affects of drought. But now, even before the drought appeals are fully funded, aid agencies are issuing flood appeals.