Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has issued an early flood warning to communities living within areas prone to annual floods in the country.
The identified flood-prone areas are the Lower Orange River, the Eastern Zambezi floodplains, and the Cuvelai River Basin, where possible high river flows and flooding that might cause prolonged inundation, are expected in the coming days.
Speaking to The Namibian on Wednesday, the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko, noted that in the Lower Orange River, they observed a high rainfall development in the main headwaters of the Vaal-Orange system in South Africa.
“The major upstream dams remain above 100%. It is expected that the flows in the Lower Orange River will remain high in the coming weeks with more water on the way as a result of further overflows and releases from the upstream dams,” he said.
As for the Eastern Zambezi floodplains, Musheko noted that the Zambezi River level maintains its steady rise at Katima Mulilo, and that the river starts overflowing its banks when it reaches the 4 metre mark.
“The hydrological station recorded 5.29 metres the morning of February 20th, 2023. Early higher flood alert and readiness is advised for the eastern Zambezi floodplain, as river levels are expected to rise due to good rainfall development in the upstream part of the Zambezi catchment,” he said.
According to Musheko, in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, the water levels in the channels of the eastern and central zones of the ephemeral river system are levelling off.
He added, however, that the levels remain high for this time of the year.
“The observed high levels may exceed the 2011 flood, which was the highest recorded flood in recent memory in the Cuvelai Etosha Basin, if more rains persist in the Cuvelai catchment,” he said.
He advised communities that live in flood-prone areas to be on the alert for possible flooding events and emergencies.
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