Flood Update

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency last Wednesday due to the flooding in north-central Namibia.

The news is finally hitting international circuits. It’s about time – this is a huge deal! 62 people have died (at least 21 of which were learners walking to or from school), 247 schools have close, almost half of the health clinics have been washed away, and more than 10,000 people have been displaced. In a country of only 2 million people – a million of which live in the north-central regions – these numbers become much more significant. Angola has reported 113 deaths and nearly 35,000 displaced people due to these same floods.

North-central Namibia is essentially a floodplain, so when record rains are received in southern Angola or northern Namibia, the land simply fills with water. There is no natural or man-made drainage so everything floods. Each year, the floods are welcomed because they bring much needed fish and water to sustain the region for the rest of the dry year. However, when there is this much water it clearly becomes a problem.

Oshakati, the town with the highest population up north, has been washed out. According to reports from my colleagues, several major shopping centers are completely under water and the main road that connects us to the town has been washed away. Though Oshakati’s flooding is the most well-known and highly-reported in Namibia, the reported flood measurements as of last week are actually highest in the village of Engela, which is situated just three kilometers north of my village.

Thankfully, the last two days have been pure sunshine and it looks as though today will follow suit! The water surrounding my house has dried enough that we can now leave our house without wading through it. It’s important that the floodplains and oshanas dry enough this weekend as more rain is expected next week. If the current levels do not drop significantly, the flood could become even more catastrophic.

Expats living in north-central Namibia are not spared from the flooding. Peace Corps has relocated most of its volunteers in these regions to new sites farther south in Namibia. Hannah and Kyle’s schools have been closed for over a week now – right in the midst of end-of-term exams – because learners could not make it to school without wading through water that is sometimes over their heads (not to mention these oshanas are full of water snakes!). Bernie and Bret’s only road to Oshakati has been washed out and they’ve been without water for almost two weeks. A water pipe burst in their village but is under the floodwaters, so the damage cannot be located or fixed until the waters recede; the government has had to bring in tanks of water to serve the school and village. My school’s sewage system has been overwhelmed and has backed up, so far irreparably, which creates for sewage-infested floodwaters in places.

Strangely, this is the second catastrophic flood I have experience in the past year – first in Nashville and now here. The two floods could not be more different from each other but are both uniquely devastating. I've tried to use better judgement in this one. Eventually, humanitarian efforts may be needed here. Since it is unknown when the rainy season will end (it should have ended a few weeks ago but the floods came very late this year, supposedly due to global warming), it’s difficult to predict what the long-term effect of these floods will be for 2011. Namibia literally will not see any rain between these floods and next January, so the water is necessary. But many crops have been washed away and villages decimated, so the long-term toll could be huge.

Any hydrologists or engineers out there who want to come to Namibia and prepare them for the next one?