By IPS Correspondents
WINDHOEK, Jan 24 2004 (IPS)

While large parts of Southern Africa labour under the effects of a drought, Namibians – especially those in the north-east of the country – are bracing for floods.

Jennifer Moetie, Chief Meteorological Technician at the Windhoek Weather Bureau, says substantial downfalls have been recorded in recent months, even though the rainy season has yet to get properly underway.

“Although the rainy season starts in October, we usually get the heavy rains between January and April, and we have already recorded 305.6 millimetres since the start of the rainy season in October last year,” she said.

During the month of January alone, 262.2 millimetres of rain fell in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek. According to Moetie, the country usually averages about 154 millimetres a year.

While the rains have been welcomed in the semi-desert south, east and central areas, there are also fears of a repeat of last year’s flooding in the north-eastern Caprivi region. The Zambezi River, usually the main source of overflows in this area, is reported to be rising.

A Senior Research Technician in the northern town of Katima Mulilo – Vincent Simana – says the situation is worsened by the fact that most streams had not dried after the floods which swamped the region last year.

“Although the Zambezi River is not yet overflowing, major floods are expected and people living in the flood plains have to start making arrangements to relocate to higher grounds so that they will not be caught unaware like last year,” he told IPS.

The 2003 overflows displaced more than a thousand people, while farmers struggled to find grazing for their stock. Government, United Nations agencies and the Red Cross had to step in to provide food, tents and mosquito nets for people and animals that were trapped in villages.

Caprivi Regional Governor Bernard Sibalatani has also warned people to monitor water levels so that they can move immediately when there are signs of flooding. However, he is concerned about those who conduct a thriving fishing business in flood-prone areas, and who are thus reluctant to travel to high-lying regions.

The heavy rains have also taken a toll on Windhoek, where a woman drowned earlier this month after being swept away by flood waters. Cars have been washed away, and the electricity and sewerage systems damaged.

One Windhoek resident whose home was flooded said, “I don’t know where to start. My carpets and everything I owned was gone in a matter of minutes.”

The City Council estimates that emergency assistance and repairs to infrastructure will cost about 800,000 U.S. dollars. It has blamed at least some of the flooding on the fact that refuse was dumped illegally in river beds, obstructing the normal flow of water.

In addition, officials say the current crisis has been exacerbated by the fact that people have started to settle along river banks and other areas that are vulnerable to floods. Long periods of drought had led residents to believe that these areas were now immune to overflows.

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