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Zambia: Floods Wreak Havoc
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
9 February 2008
Posted to the web 9 February 2008
FIVE lodges in the South Luangwa National Park in Mambwe districthave been flooded, forcing authorities to close them down.
The Mushroom lodge and Presidential House that was recently officially opened by President Mwanawasa is among the lodges that have been flooded.
Mambwe District Commissioner (DC), John Chilowa confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
Other lodges that had been closed due to the increased high water levels in the Luangwa river were Flat Dog, Track Trail, Marula and Crop Valley.
Mr Chilowa said that the five affected lodges had suspended their operations until next month when the water levels were likely to recede in the Luangwa River.
"Five lodges which include Mushroom, Flat Dog, Track Trail, Marula and Crop valley in the South Luangwa national park have been flooded. No life or property was lost because tour operators started shifting their properties when they saw the water levels rising," he said.
Mr Chilowa said most tour operators acted swiftly because they had anticipated the floods due to the continuous rains that were experienced in the past weeks.
Mambwe, Nyimba and Chipata district which are situated deep in the valley had been experiencing torrential rainfall.
And Chief Moomba's palace in Kazungula district has collapsed following heavy rain.
Moomba Ward councillor, Davidson Sikasibi, confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
He said the chief was inside the palace with his family at the time the house collapsed, but that no injury was recorded.
Mr Sikasibi said the situation had left the chief's council and the entire community in the chiefdom in shock becausesuch a thinghad never happened.
He said if heavy rain continued in the area, the remaining walls of the palace would be completely destroyed.
Mr Sikasibi said the chief had since shifted into another house, which was still under construction by Mulobezi Safari Hunting Company through community funds.
He stressed that the chief was in need of assistance from government as the new palace where he has moved to was incomplete and had no water and electricity.
Mr Sikasibi has appealed to the office of the Vice President through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to quickly come to the aid of the traditional ruler.
In North-Western Province, the west banks of the Zambezi River had been cut off in the border towns of Chavuma and Zambezi due to floods.
Provincial Permanent Secretary Jeston Mulando said in Solwezi yesterday that the situation was critical as people in the flooded areas could not access rural health centres.
He said some parts of Mufumbwe and Kabompo had also experienced floods but the situation was worse in Chavuma where operations of the pontoon had been suspended due to rising waters on the Zambezi River.
"The affected people in Zambezi and Chavuma can't walk to the rural health centres, and we need to take medicines near to them; we have asked the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to help us airlift food and medicine," he said.
And Chavuma District Commissioner, Frobisher Fulayi said the plains in the west bank were flooded, and areas such as Nguvu, Nyathanda, Kambuya, Lukolwe, Lingundu, Lipinda were totally cut off.
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"With the rising of the water it has been decided that it is closed. All those departments, NGOs, parastatal organisations and individuals willing to work in the west bank can only do so after the floods," Mr Fulayi said.
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