Namibia PDNA 2009 - GFDRR

1.1
The 2009 Floods
Omusati
Oshana
Ohangwena
Oshikoto
Kavango
Caprivi
Namibia is divided into thirteen
Regions: Caprivi and Kavango in the
north-east, Omusati, Ohangwena,
Oshana and Oshikoto Regions in
the north; Kunene in the north-west;
Omaheke in the east, Otjozondjupa,
and Khomas Regions in the central
areas, Erongo in the west; and the
Hardap and Karas Regions in the
south. The six affected Regions in
the floods are located in the northcentral
and north-eastern regions,
in the Regions of Caprivi, Kavango,
Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, and
Oshikoto.
Figure 4: The six flood affected Regions
The north-central and north-eastern
regions experienced heavy flooding
in the 1960s and 1970s, but the past
several decades did not see any
rainfall on the magnitude of what has
occurred again in recent years.
In early March of 2009, torrential rains across Angola, Namibia, and Zambia resulted in water levels in the Chobe, Okavango, Kwandu,
and Zambezi Rivers to increase to around eight metres, and the flood waters quickly inundated houses and villages in the Kavango
and Caprivi regions in Namibia. The Zambezi and Chobe Rivers have broad floodplains largely covered by grass, with only sporadic
clumps of trees on slightly higher mounds that are often shared with small settlements. The Okavango and Kwandu have narrower
floodplains covered mostly with grass, but also with denser gallery forest in some areas. The water levels reached near record levels:
in the Kavango and Caprivi Regions, water levels reached heights not recorded since 1963.
Unlike the effects of the flood in the north-eastern Regions, the inundation patterns of the four north-central Regions seem to be
mostly due to heavy rains (rather than the influence of major rivers), and were exacerbated by drainage systems that were unable
to handle the volumes of water. The Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, and Oshikoto Regions are located in the Cuvelai Basin, which
originates in southern Angola. The Cuvelai System is a dense network of ephemeral rivers that carry water only during the rainy
season (from November to March). During much of the year, depression areas, or pans, (known locally as oshanas), remain dry
and serve as grazing areas. The Cuvelai Basin drains to the Etosha Pan, which is located 150 km south in the Etosha National Park.
Cumulative rainfalls in these four Regions were almost twice the normal levels (850 mm compared to 450 mm measured at the
Ondangwa weather station) from October 2008 to April 2009.
1.2
The Human Toll
The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination
(UNDAC) authorities estimated the population affected
by the floods to be 350,000 (or 16.6 percent of the total
population of Namibia). However, revised figures from local
authorities place the total at closer to 700,000 people (33
percent of the total population). Around 50,000 people were
displaced and 102 people lost their lives. The effects of the
flood varied by Region; Caprivi was most affected by flood
levels, but the Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, and Oshikoto
Regions were most affected in terms of population.
Figure 5: Houses affected by flooding
2
Namibia POST-DISASTER NEEDS ASSESSMENT