![]() Border between Angola and Namibia | |
Meteorological history | |
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Duration | March–April 2009 |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | At least 131 deaths |
Areas affected | Southern Angola,Northern Namibia,Western Zambia |
The 2009 Angola,Namibia and Zambia floods was a natural disaster which began in early March 2009 and resulted in the deaths of at least 131 people and otherwise affected around 445,000 people. The floods affected seven regions of Namibia,three provinces of Zambia,two regions of Angola and part of Botswana. The floodwaters damaged buildings and infrastructure and displaced at least 300,000 people. A state of emergency was declared in northern Namibia and there were fears that a disease epidemic would ensue. The Red Cross agencies and governments of the two countries responded to the disaster,and aid was distributed be the World Health Organization.
The border regions of Angola,Namibia and Zambia are dominated by small rivers which flood regularly during the rainy season from December to April. [1] Floods in 2008 lasted from February to March and affected 250,000 people in Namibia with 42 people losing their lives. The floods this year have primarily been caused by heavy rain;more rain has fallen on the region since December than fell in the entire five-month rainy season of last year. [2] As a result,the flooding this year has been worse than that usually experienced. [3] It has been reported that the floods could be the worst in the area for four decades. [1] The Angolan National Institute of Meteorology has placed the cause of the heavy rain with a large equatorial depression which is expected to remain over the country until April when it will start to move southwards. [4] One report has blamed the continuing heavy rain on the effects of the meteorological phenomenon La Niña. [5]
Angola has been affected by floods within two of its provinces:Cuando Cubango and Cunene. [5] The worst affected province has been Cunene,which lies on the Cuvelai River. [6] Within Cunene alone 125,000 people have been affected by the flood and 25,000 have lost their homes. [2] Across the country more than 30,000 people have been made homeless by the floods. [7] There are fears that the floods could exacerbate diseases already present in the area,particularly cholera and malaria. [3] Three cases of cholera have also been reported in Ondjiva,the capital of Cunene region,and local officials expect that number to increase. [8] The Red Cross reports that so far there have been 19 deaths attributable to flooding in Angola. [9]
Botswana has been affected by the rising height of the Okavango River has risen to 8.62 m,the second highest depth recorded and the highest since 1969. [10] The Okavango terminates in Botswana at the inland Okavango Delta and the Botswana government has issued an alert to those living alongside the river to move to higher ground. [11] The government has evacuated 63 families amid concerns that flooding will worsen,particularly in the Chobe District. [11] More than 400 people have been displaced as a result of the floods and the Botswana Defence Force is working to help those affected. [12]
Seven regions of Namibia have been affected by the flood:Omusati,Ohangwena,Oshana,Oshikoto,Zambezi,Kavango and Kunene. [6] The worst affected regions have been Omusati,Ohangwena,Oshana and Oshikoto which lie on the Cuvelai River. [13] In the Zambezi Region floodwaters have reached areas up to 20 km from where the river normally flows. Up to 300,000 people have been affected by the floods in Namibia which have displaced around 276,000 people. [14] [15] The floods have destroyed crops,houses,schools,medical centres and roads in the country whose president,Hifikepunye Pohamba,has said could be experiencing one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. [3] Gravel roads have been particularly affected with up to 85% of those in affected areas being damaged and cutting people off from assistance. [3] [16] People and livestock have been washed away and there have been cases of crocodiles and hippopotamuses swimming in the flood water,attacking and killing people. [3] There was a pre-existing cholera outbreak in the Kunene Region and the floods have worsened this by overwhelming sanitation infrastructure and reducing supplies of clean drinking water. [17] [18] Malaria cases have also increased,with 2,000 known to have contracted the disease of which 25 have died. [1] The Namibian government has stated that 112 people have died so far as a result of flooding. [19]
President Pohamba has stated that a food shortage could follow the floods and the United Nations has estimated that crop production in Namibia will fall by 63% in the next year and that up to 500,000 people could be affected by a food shortage. [2] [5] [15] Local food prices have already risen by 37% because of the disaster. [15]
Zambia has experienced flooding in the Western,North-Western and Southern Provinces. [6] The damage to infrastructure alone totals more than $5 million and one district,Shangombo,remains cut off from outside help completely. [5] The floods have affected 20,000 households and destroyed 5,000 homes in the Southern Province alone. [20]
Although this particular flood event has been worse than previously experienced in Namibia and Angola,there have been lower levels of flooding elsewhere in the region,such as on the Zambezi River,and the rainy season is expected to last just four more weeks. [6] [21] It is expected that the Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique will protect countries on the lower Zambezi from flooding caused by rainwater in the upper river. [5] The Red Cross is also keeping watch on Severe Tropical Storm Izilda which is heading for Mozambique's east coast and could cause further flooding there. [20]
President Pohamba has declared a state of emergency across six northern districts,and has requested international assistance. [2] The Namibian state relief fund has been active in the region delivering water,food,tents and other supplies to flooded areas by helicopter and motorboat. However it is hindered by a shortage of both aircraft and boats,and is running out of funding. [1] The Red Cross agencies in both Angola and Namibia have responded to the disaster. The Angola Red Cross is distributing mosquito nets,water purification tablets and rehydration sachets and the Namibia Red Cross Society has been distributing chlorine tablets and promoting hygiene in the affected areas. [3] [17] The World Health Organization has also responded with the delivery of five tonnes of health care kits and supplies of drinking water. [3] There are fears that the financial crisis of 2007–2008 may limit the effectiveness of aid agencies who are already over-stretched across Africa. [2] Displaced persons camps have been established in Oshana,Oshikoto,Ohangwena and Omusati in Namibia and currently hold around 4,500 people although they are said to be overcrowded and lacking in fresh water and sanitation provision. [15] The World Health Organization has sent several healthcare teams into the area to train emergency personnel and to provide expertise in disease prevention. [15] The floods coincided with a visit to Angola by Pope Benedict XVI,who expressed solidarity with the flood victims and encouraged reconstruction efforts. [22] The Namibian national power company,NamPower,has donated food worth N$50,000 to those who have lost their homes in the areas near to Ruacana Hydro-electric Power Station which accounts for 70% of the country's electricity needs. [23] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an appeal for $1.3 million to fund relief operations to assist 20,000 people in Namibia. [14]
Kavango was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu.
Omusati is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia,its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao,Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. As of 2020,Omusati had 148,834 registered voters.
Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo,its governor is Marius Sheya. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Besides the capital Opuwo,the region contains the municipality of Outjo,the town Khorixas and the self-governed village Kamanjab. Kunene is home to the Himba people,a subtribe of the Herero,as well as to Damara people and Nama people. As of 2020,Kunene had 58,548 registered voters.
The Okavango River,is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana,and as Cubango in Angola,and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa,running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of Angola. Farther south,it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia,and then flows into Botswana. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead,it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan,in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert. The Cuito River is a major tributary.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a vast inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari.
The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp,the river is called the Linyanti River and,farther east,the Chobe River,before it flows into the Zambezi River.
The Cunene or Kunene is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands southwards to the border with Namibia. It then flows in a westerly direction along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
ǃKungKUUNG (ǃXun),also known as Ju,is a dialect continuum spoken in Namibia,Botswana,and Angola by the ǃKung people,constituting two or three languages. Together with the ǂʼAmkoe language,ǃKung forms the Kxʼa language family. ǃKung constituted one of the branches of the putative Khoisan language family,and was called Northern Khoisan in that scenario,but the unity of Khoisan has never been demonstrated and is now regarded as spurious. Nonetheless,the anthropological term "Khoisan" has been retained as an umbrella term for click languages in general.
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The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife.
The 2008 Namibia floods took place in early February 2008,a rapid onset of heavy rains triggered floods in northern Namibia,leading to one of its worst floods in 50 years. The floods had killed 42 people by early March and an estimated 65,000 people were affected,primarily in the regions of Omusati,Oshikoto,Oshana,Ohangwena and Caprivi. 40,000 people were assisted by the Namibian Red Cross with 4,600 in relocation camps. Over-crowding and insanitary conditions caused health concerns in relocation camps and an outbreak of cholera was announced in March. On 14 March,the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs triggered the International Charter for "Space and Major Disasters". Staple crops were devastated and 52,000 people from flood-affected areas were considered in need of immediate of assistance to cover their basic food needs. Deputy Prime Minister Libertine Amathila declared that the government would spend 65 million Namibian dollars to assist the displaced. Long-term impacts included damage to farmland,housing,schools,roads and infrastructure across the region. The floods reduced the resilience of the population who were left vulnerable to further flooding which occurred in 2009.
Angolan mopane woodlands are situated in southwestern Angola,extending into northern Namibia. This ecosystem surrounds Etosha Pan,which is considered a separate ecoregion. The mopane trees are the main type of vegetation.
Synodontis woosnami,known as the Upper Zambezi squeaker,or bubblebarb squeaker,is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Angola,Botswana,Namibia,Zambia and Zimbabwe where it is found in the upper Zambezi and Okavango River basins and the Cunene River. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1911,from a specimen collected in the Okavango River in the Lake Ngami district of Botswana. The species name woosnami is derived from R. B. Woosnam,the collector of the first specimen.
Botswana–Namibia relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Botswana and Namibia. Botswana gained independence from Britain in September 1966. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following the Namibian War of Independence,and the two countries soon after established formal diplomatic relations. Botswana has a high commission in Windhoek. Namibia has a high commission in Gaborone. Both countries are members of the Southern African Development Community,African Union,Group of 77,and Commonwealth of Nations.
Benjamin Hauwanga,commonly known as B.H.,is a Namibian businessman. His parents separated while he was a young boy;his mother single-handedly raised him,although his father visited the family regularly. He has eight siblings.
Bwabwata National Park is a protected area in northeastern Namibia that was established in 2007 and covers 6,274 km2 (2,422 sq mi). It was created by merging Namibia's Caprivi Game Park and Mahango Game Park. It is situated in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions,extending along the Caprivi Strip. It is bounded by the Okavango River to the west and the Kwando River to the east. Angola lies to the north and Botswana to the south.
Nkasa Rupara National Park,also Nkasa Lupala National Park,formerly Mamili National Park,is a national park in Namibia. It is centered on the Nkasa and Rupara islands on the Kwando/Linyanti River in the south-western corner of East Caprivi. Botswana lies to the west,south and east,and Sangwali village to the north. It is Namibia's largest formally protected wetland area. It is one of Namibia’s protected areas that benefits local communities surrounding parks. The unfenced park forms a trans-boundary link for wildlife migration between Angola,Botswana,Namibia and Zambia. Nkasa Rupara is part of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
Zambezi bream,also known as dwarf bream,is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is found in river systems in southern Africa.
The Cuvelai-Etosha Basin is a transboundary wetland area shared by Angola and Namibia extending over 450 kilometres from north to south. Covering almost 160,000 km2,the widest point of the basin is along the Angola-Namibia border from the Kunene River east to the Okavango River.