Andreas Uutoni said the children became ill after being relocated to the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre and the Oshakati Independence Stadium.

Both of them were reportedly affected by intestinal problems.

The child who died at the sports stadium was identified as eight-month-old Mandume Henock Gabriel.

Uutoni said the child who fell ill at the Trade Fair Centre was admitted to the Oshakati State Hospital, but he could provide no other details.

People living in the temporary shelters are complaining about a lack of privacy, long queues at toilets, and illnesses spreading, especially among children.

They added that doctors and nurses from Oshakati and Ongwediva were visiting the centres and taking seriously ill people to hospital.

A second flood hit Oshakati on Sunday evening and more people might have to be relocated, joining those who had to vacate their homes after the first arrival of the seasonal efundja flood on January 31.

The Oshoopala, One­shila, Uupindi, Evululuko and Kandjengedi informal settlements are the worst affected.

The Kandjengedi oshanas are full and the river running through Oshakati is in full flood, raising fears that the Kandjengedi bridge might collapse, cutting off the town from the rest of the country.

According to Oshakati Town Council spokesperson Loth Nehemia, more than 2 000 people have been affected by the floods so far, of whom 697 have been relocated to the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre and Oshakati Independence Stadium.

The others are being housed by relatives living on higher ground, and their belongings were being stored at the army base, he said.

"So far, everything is under control," Nehemia said.

He said 12 victims of the latest flood have been evacuated to the Oshakati Independence Stadium, and the council was registering many others.

The Trade Fair Centre and Independence Stadium were full and a new site was being found to temporarily house flood victims, Nehemia said.

Once a new site had been found and prepared, everybody currently staying at the Trade Fair Centre and sport stadium would be moved there too.

Donations for the flood victims are streaming in, and the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) and the Red Cross Society of Namibia are providing tents and blankets.

Uutoni told The Namibian that they received 34 tons of maize meal from Namib Mills on Tuesday.

Namibia Breweries has donated 545 bags of maize meal, as well as bread, sugar, soup and milk.

The Red Cross co-ordinator in the North, Paulus Ngolombe, said the organisation was taking care of the 697 flood victims at the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre and the Oshakati Independence Stadium, as well as 46 people at Outapi in the Omusati Region and 179 at Oshikango in the Ohangwena Region.

He said they had received a report of about 11 flooded homesteads at Olukonda in the Oshikoto Region, and the inhabitants might also have to be relocated.

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