Rising Zambezi River claims 2 lives

TWO children have drowned in the Zambezi River while being relocated to higher ground in a boat.

The river rose to 7,18 metres yesterday – swelling by 18 centimetres in just 24 hours. The aluminium boat apparently capsized when a strong wind gusted up suddenly on Wednesday.The two girls, aged 9 and 10, a teacher and the boat operator were the only occupants, an official said.”The bodies are still missing and the search for them is ongoing,” said Gabriel Kangowa, Acting Director of the Emergency Management Unit (EMU) in the Office of the Prime Minister.”We are very sorry about the loss of such young lives,” he told The Namibian yesterday.EMU officials have evacuated some 1 400 schoolchildren and 50 teachers from schools surrounded by water and moved them to schools on higher ground.Kangowa will travel to the flood areas this weekend.He has meanwhile submitted an assessment report to Cabinet about the situation after strong thunderstorms in the catchment areas north of the Namibian border this week.The river was 7,33 m high at Chavuma on the Angolan border on Wednesday, falling after a peak of 9,04 m on February 14.However, at the Ngonye Rapids upstream of Katima Mulilo in Zambia, the river was 5,29 m high and rising on Wednesday, according to Guido van Langenhove, Deputy Director of Hydrology on the Agriculture Ministry.He said the flood was heading for a magnitude comparable to 2004.”More rains may still be coming in the remaining part of the rainy season.It could be expected that the water flowing back in the Chobe River will pass Ngoma Gate to reach the Lake Liambezi area in March,” Van Langenhove said.”Lake Liambezi might receive more water than in 2004 if the inflow carries on much longer, and it will backwater into the Linyanti River towards the Chinchimane area.The only years with comparable levels from 1980 onwards were 2003, when the river peaked at 6,62 m on April, and 2004, when the river peaked at 7,04 m on April 4.”For this relatively early time in the flood season, it is the highest level on record since 1968, when the Zambezi was at 7,04 m on 17 and 18 February,” he added.The aluminium boat apparently capsized when a strong wind gusted up suddenly on Wednesday.The two girls, aged 9 and 10, a teacher and the boat operator were the only occupants, an official said.”The bodies are still missing and the search for them is ongoing,” said Gabriel Kangowa, Acting Director of the Emergency Management Unit (EMU) in the Office of the Prime Minister.”We are very sorry about the loss of such young lives,” he told The Namibian yesterday.EMU officials have evacuated some 1 400 schoolchildren and 50 teachers from schools surrounded by water and moved them to schools on higher ground.Kangowa will travel to the flood areas this weekend.He has meanwhile submitted an assessment report to Cabinet about the situation after strong thunderstorms in the catchment areas north of the Namibian border this week.The river was 7,33 m high at Chavuma on the Angolan border on Wednesday, falling after a peak of 9,04 m on February 14.However, at the Ngonye Rapids upstream of Katima Mulilo in Zambia, the river was 5,29 m high and rising on Wednesday, according to Guido van Langenhove, Deputy Director of Hydrology on the Agriculture Ministry.He said the flood was heading for a magnitude comparable to 2004.”More rains may still be coming in the remaining part of the rainy season.It could be expected that the water flowing back in the Chobe River will pass Ngoma Gate to reach the Lake Liambezi area in March,” Van Langenhove said.”Lake Liambezi might receive more water than in 2004 if the inflow carries on much longer, and it will backwater into the Linyanti River towards the Chinchimane area.The only years with comparable levels from 1980 onwards were 2003, when the river peaked at 6,62 m on April, and 2004, when the river peaked at 7,04 m on April 4.”For this relatively early time in the flood season, it is the highest level on record since 1968, when the Zambezi was at 7,04 m on 17 and 18 February,” he added.