Zambezi highest in 40 years

THE Zambezi River rose by three centimetres yesterday and reached an alarming height of 7,82 metres at Katima Mulilo in the afternoon – the second highest level in 40 years.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba again flew to the Caprivi Region yesterday to assess the flood damage after an earlier visit a few weeks ago to the region. The Zambezi River stood at 7,76m at Katima Mulilo on Sunday and rise by six centimetres within 24 hours. According to hydrologist Guido van Langenhove in the Ministry of Agriculture, the highest record for the Zambezi was 8,16m in 1969. ‘Reports from Zambia are that water levels there are also the highest on record and that the flood will still be increasing, although at least rainfall would be less in the coming days,’ Van Langenhove told The Namibian yesterday. The Namibia Red Cross Society (NCRS), which has appealed for donations to help flood victims in northern Namibia, could not give more details about the humanitarian situation in the Caprivi Region.’We cannot give details, only the Governor, Leonard Mwilima, can do that,’ Polly Helmut of the NCRS office at Katima Mulilo told The Namibian yesterday afternoon. Governor Mwilima accompanied President Pohamba on a helicopter flight over the flood-stricken Caprivi Region yesterday. The delegation made a stop at Schuckmannsburg, about 60 kilometres east of Katima Mulilo as the crow flies, where the Head of State spoke to people who had earlier been relocated there and temporarily sheltered in tents.’Of the six constituencies in Caprivi, Kabbe is affected the worst with about 90 per cent affected by the floods,’ Mwilima told The Namibian yesterday afternoon. ‘In the Sibinda, Linyanti and Kongola constituencies, most crop fields are damaged by the floodwaters, but the situation is not (yet) life-threatening. The high levels of the Zambezi River are of very great concern to us, especially the rising water measurements over the past 24 hours,’ Mwilima added. ‘In the Katima Mulilo urban constituency we have houses submerged by the floodwaters and some families have been accommodated in the town hall. In the Katima Mulilo rural constituency about 50 per cent of the area has been affected.’Asked about flood relief, Mwilima said Government’s Emergency Management Unit (EMU) had received some tents and food supplies since the floods started several weeks ago.’Government resources are limited but the help received so far has been of great help,’ he said.The Governor concurred with predictions by the Agriculture Ministry’s hydrology department that Lake Liambezi in the Caprivi Region would fill up soon. ‘The Chobe River which flows into the Zambezi River is already flowing westwards as the Zambezi River carries so much water and pushes the Chobe waters into a western direction. We expect that waters from the Zambezi River could reach lake Liambezi soon,’ Mwilima said.Caprivi River Lodge, which is situated five kilometres east of Katima Mulilo, has cancelled bookings for tourists because several rooms are under water.’We must use mukolos (traditional dugout canoes) and kayaks for one kilometre to reach a dry parking place close to the tar road if we want to get to town,’ an employee of the lodge told The Namibian yesterday.The owner of Mukusi Cabins east of Rundu recently closed the lodge because of the floods.President Pohamba is expected in the Kavango Region today, where the Okavango River had risen to 8.62m by Sunday, the second highest since records started in the 1940s. The highest ever reached was 8.91m in 1969.