Caprivi flood victims to head home

DISPLACED victims of the Caprivi floods want to return home after spending almost three months in resettlement camps.

With the Zambezi River having dropped below the three-metre mark, many of the affected villages in the eastern floodplains are drying out. Head of the Emergency Communication Centre at Katima Mulilo Frederick Simasiku said on Monday that people were particularly keen to start ploughing their fields this month – traditionally known as litapa.The flood task team has agreed to carry out a thorough assessment of the situation this week to plan their return.However, at this stage, finding appropriate transport is proving to be the biggest obstacle to this process, according to the Councillor for the Kabbe constituency, Peter Mwala.With the waters said to have subsided considerably around Lusese, Ivilivinzi, Schuckmannsburg and Namiyundu, travel by boat will not be possible.However, floodwaters have not totally receded around the villages of Muzii, Nankuntwe and Bukano.School buildings and teachers’ houses at Muzii are still reported to be flooded.Most of the displaced villagers were airlifted to safety at the height of the floods in April when the river reached its highest level since 1978 – topping seven metres.The river level as measured at Katima Mulilo yesterday stood at 2,4 metres.This compares closely with the rate at which the river dropped last year, when it stood at 2,41 metres on July 2.Mwala said people would have to wait until Government determined that it was safe for them to return home and when they could be assisted.He said a lot of movement in and out of the camps had taken place over the weeks, and that officials would once again have to determine the exact number of people living in the camps and those who wanted to return home.At the end of May, more than 9 000 people were known to be residing in camps at Lusese, Impalila and Schuckmannsburg.Education officials travelled to the floodplains last week to assess the state of school buildings following a request by some school principals that they resume teaching in the villages.Simasiku said officials however still feared for the safety of children who would have to travel by mokoros (traditional dugout canoes) to school, as many of the streams were still quite deep.In addition, crocodiles are still rife in the area.School principals have requested that children be accommodated in tents near the schools to avoid accidents.The flood task team is scheduled to travel to the relocation areas during this week to inform people that the Regional Emergency Management Unit had begun planning their return.Head of the Emergency Communication Centre at Katima Mulilo Frederick Simasiku said on Monday that people were particularly keen to start ploughing their fields this month – traditionally known as litapa.The flood task team has agreed to carry out a thorough assessment of the situation this week to plan their return.However, at this stage, finding appropriate transport is proving to be the biggest obstacle to this process, according to the Councillor for the Kabbe constituency, Peter Mwala.With the waters said to have subsided considerably around Lusese, Ivilivinzi, Schuckmannsburg and Namiyundu, travel by boat will not be possible.However, floodwaters have not totally receded around the villages of Muzii, Nankuntwe and Bukano.School buildings and teachers’ houses at Muzii are still reported to be flooded.Most of the displaced villagers were airlifted to safety at the height of the floods in April when the river reached its highest level since 1978 – topping seven metres.The river level as measured at Katima Mulilo yesterday stood at 2,4 metres.This compares closely with the rate at which the river dropped last year, when it stood at 2,41 metres on July 2.Mwala said people would have to wait until Government determined that it was safe for them to return home and when they could be assisted.He said a lot of movement in and out of the camps had taken place over the weeks, and that officials would once again have to determine the exact number of people living in the camps and those who wanted to return home.At the end of May, more than 9 000 people were known to be residing in camps at Lusese, Impalila and Schuckmannsburg.Education officials travelled to the floodplains last week to assess the state of school buildings following a request by some school principals that they resume teaching in the villages.Simasiku said officials however still feared for the safety of children who would have to travel by mokoros (traditional dugout canoes) to school, as many of the streams were still quite deep.In addition, crocodiles are still rife in the area.School principals have requested that children be accommodated in tents near the schools to avoid accidents.The flood task team is scheduled to travel to the relocation areas during this week to inform people that the Regional Emergency Management Unit had begun planning their return.