NAMIBIA: Zambezi rises again

Photo: IRIN

Boats and canoes are being used to cross swollen rivers

JOHANNESBURG, 20 April 2004 (IRIN) - Relief workers in the Caprivi province were evacuating the last remaining people from the region as water from the rising Zambezi claimed two lives and reached the outskirts of the provincial capital, Katima Mulilo, in eastern Namibia on Tuesday. Two deaths were recorded in the flood-affected areas at the weekend. A 15-year-old girl had drowned on her way to school when her canoe capsized, and a six-year-old girl died from snake-bite while rescue workers were trying to reach her, Ndeutapo Amagulu, the deputy permanent secretary at the ministry of environment and tourism told IRIN. The level of the river stood at 6.68 metres on Tuesday. "The second wave is almost upon us," Amagulu added. Just over 2,500 people have been relocated to four evacuation camps in eastern Caprivi during the past few weeks. Large portions of eastern Caprivi have been submerged for the past two months in the worst floods since 1958, affecting a reported 50,000 people. Amagulu said by the weekend the flood had almost reached the Zambezi Lodge outside the town. "We have managed to evacuate almost all the affected people to the four camps. The last of the lot will be air-lifted or guided to safe areas today. After that we will have to wait for the impact of the second wave." The second round of flooding is expected to affect the Ngoma constituency, along the border with Zambia. Amagulu said the Zambezi was not expected to reach the seven-metre mark again.