UN launches N$26,7m flood aid appeal

THE UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched an international appeal for US$2,72 million (about N$26,7 million) to help Namibians affected by floods in the northern and northeastern parts of the country.

The levels of the Kavango and Zambezi rivers are going down slightly, but water in the floodplains of the Zambezi River have not yet subsided, while water from the river flows along the Bukalo Channel towards Lake Liambezi. Water from the Chobe River, which usually flows eastwards into the Zambezi, cannot be accommodated any more and is being pushed westwards in the direction of Lake Liambezi as well. Donor funds will be used to provide food and non-food items, temporary shelter, mosquito nets and clean water for the approximately 13 000 displaced people, including around 9 200 already in relocation camps, where the numbers of people registering continue to grow. According to the appeal document, many health facilities and schools are either flooded or inaccessible. ‘While no dramatic increases of acute watery diarrhoea or cases of cholera have been reported, there is a threat due to overflowing of sewerage ponds,’ according to OCHA.More than 50 per cent of roads in the affected area have been damaged and a livelihood assessment indicates that the harvest is expected to fall by 63 per cent. The Namibia Red Cross Society has already appealed for N$5,2 million to help flood victims after President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency in six northern regions ten days ago.According to Gabriel Kangowa, Deputy Director in the Emergency Management Unit (EMU), a helicopter of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) will be dispatched to the Caprivi Region this week to assess how many more people need help in remote areas.’We completed the removal of 517 people from Muzii to the Kabbe relocation camp on Sunday,’ Kangowa told The Namibian. ‘Some 250 households were moved from Namiyundu to Schuckmannsburg, which is about the highest ground in the area. About 930 people were relocated from Nankuntwe also to Schuckmannsburg,’ Kangowa added.The Zambezi stood at 7,75 metres on Monday – two centimetres down from Sunday. The Okavango River at Rundu was 7,92 metres high on Monday – a drop of 6 cm from Sunday.