Our Shrinking World Series: Deluge in Namibia

Parts of Southern Africa Submerged by Deluge

Flooding has affected Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique. Rainfall was above normal in southern Africa for January to March, 2009, reports said.

Deadly Flooding in Namibia – Earth Observatory Images

Image acquired March 27, 2009

Image acquired October 18, 2002

At least 350,000 people were affected by flooding in Namibia during the annual rainy season in southern Africa in March 2009. According to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 92 people had been killed and 13,000 people were displaced as of April 1.

Among the places affected by the heaviest rains and most severe flooding was the Caprivi Strip, a narrow “peninsula” of Namibia that stretches out along the Zambezi River between Zambia to the north and Botswana to the south. This pair of natural-color images of the area was captured by the Advanced Land Imager sensor on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite on March 28, 2009 (top), and the Landsat 5 satellite on October 18, 2002 (bottom).

Flood waters pooled across a wide swath of the Zambezi flood plain on March 28, and numerous towns and villages were either underwater or surrounded by floods. In the dry season, the river meanders in a narrow ribbon across the region. The vegetation is dry, and the land is shades of beige and brown. In the flooded image, the vegetation across the area is greener, which makes the flooded landscape look almost purple in places.

Flooding during the southern Africa rainy season is a normal occurrence, but this year’s rains and flooding were exceptional. Quoting Caprivi Governor Leonard Mwilima, an Agence-France Press news report said that the Zambezi River rose to its highest level in 40 years.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 Team, and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey Global Visualization Viewer. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey. Instrument:  EO-1 – ALI

Southern Africa hit by worst floods in years

The Zambezi River passes the town of Tete in central Mozambique after floods took place in three river basins in 2008. Photo AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

On Mar 27, 2009 AFP reported:

• Southern Afica’s  worst floods in years, has killed more than 100 people, displacing thousands more.
• Record river levels across the region have affected hundreds of thousands of people.
• In March, Namibia’s government declared a state of emergency in areas where floods have affected over 350,000 people, 13,000 of whom were displaced.
• Some 160,000 people have been affected in Angola.
• The Zambezi river, along Namibia’s northeastern Caprivi Region, rose to 7.82 meters last week, its highest level in 40 years.
• Large areas were submerged by water and access to several villages was cut off.
• The death toll stood at 112.
• Nearly 200 schools have closed.
• One hospital and 19 clinics were cut off due to floods.
• “Water engineers are telling us these are the worst floods here since 1965,” an official told AFP.
• In Zambia, 21 districts have been affected by flooding and the army has been called in to assist the worst affected region of Shang’ombo, where they are also helping reconstruct a bridge connecting it to the rest of the country.
• In northern Botswana, rain has caused the Okavango, Zambezi and Chobe rivers to swell, leaving 430 people displaced and submerging eight villages.
• The villages of Satau and Parakarungu (population 1,000), could be swept away by the rising rivers within a matter of days, said a district official.
• In Mozambique,  about 4,000 people were cut off by floods.
• In 2008, heavy rains in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi caused flash flooding in Mozambique displacing tens of thousands of people and destroying 100,000 hectares of crops.
• In 2000 and 2001 about 700 people were killed in Mozambique’s floods caused by torrential rains.
• “We must seriously consider the present floods and those of a year ago as having to do with climate change,” Guido van Langenhove, a Namibian government hydrologist, said.