2008 Namibia floods
Open-knowledge reference entry
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.
Background
The floods hit the northern Namibian regions of Omusati, Oshikoto, Oshana, Ohangwena, and Caprivi.
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This entry incorporates text from “2008 Namibia floods” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.