Johannesburg — At least 400,000 people in Angola and Namibia have been affected by floods as a result of heavy rains over the past three weeks, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement on 16 March.

"These already vulnerable regions have experienced floods over the last two years, and this year the rain has been even heavier than last year, which is stretching the country's national disaster management capacity," Valter Quifica, secretary-general of the Angolan Red Cross, was quoted as saying.

In Namibia, there are concerns that flooding in the north of the country bordering Angola will exacerbate an already serious cholera outbreak.

"We are worried that the floods will overwhelm the already poor sanitation infrastructure in the area, and further limit access to clean drinking water," said Ms Dorkas Kapembe-Haiduwa, secretary-general of the Namibian Red Cross. "But we have many volunteers on the ground now, who are distributing chlorine tablets and conducting hygiene promotion."

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]