OHANGWENA governor Walde Ndevashiya is pleading for good Samaritans to assist the affected communities with tents, food and other necessities amid a second floodwave arriving from Angola.
He says many villages have been affected and floodwater keeps increasing.
"Water is moving fast and is very deep, and we have this fear that the heavy rainfall we are receiving these days will increase the current floodwater," Ndevashiya said this, while giving a report on the flood situation in the region to minister of agriculture, water and land reform Calle Schlettwein.
He said villages such as Onamhinda are among those most affected and many houses are flooded.
"As a region, we have secured a piece of land where a camp was set up, and we have already relocated people there. The campsite is situated at Onamhinda village," he said.
Ndevashiya said they fear more people would need to be relocated from their homesteads due to the second flood wave.
He said some people have built their homesteads in flood prone areas.
Addressing Schlettwein on Thursday, Ndevashiya said: "Honourable minister, these people have lost so much. They have lost their mahangu fields, animals and many other things. There will be no harvest this year, and people may need assistance from the government."
'MANAGEABLE'
Omusati regional governor Erginus Endjala said the flood situation in the region is manageable.
He said flood water arrived in the region a week ago and was first observed at Oukwandongo village in the Outapi constituency.
"We are ready as a region to assist those who may be affected. Up until now, I have not received any complaints of anyone needing to be relocated," he said.
Endjala said people who are in floodprone areas would have to be relocated when this becomes necessary.
"In the vicinity of our town, you will find a location that is settled in the flood area. For any eventuality, these people will be relocated," he said.
'BLESSING'
Meanwhile, Schlettwein said the floods are more of a blessing than a disaster.
The minister embarked on a three-day visit to the three regions affected by floods to assess the situation.
He also visited Angola to assess the situation in the neighbouring country.
Schlettwein said the flood has existed for over a million years, and people have learnt how to adapt to it.
"The flood is also a blessing before it's a disaster. It fills up the oshanas, groundwater sources, and can be used for irrigation purposes," the minister said.
He said the floods also bring along frogs and fish, which many local people benefit from.
Schlettwein said people have started getting in the way of floodwaterways due to population growth and development in many regions.
"Since that floodwater has not entered Namibia for the past 11 years, many people have started utilising every piece of land they see. They get the land rights, and when the flood comes, they say it is a disaster," he said.
"The roads which have been constructed do not have proper bridges to allow water to pass through freely. These bridges are small, and roads with no proper bridges are equal to a dam. Water is forced to go back and spread in different oshanas," the minister said.
He said the floodwater from Angola is only concentrating on the eastern side of the Cuvelai system, although it is starting to affect the western side as well.
Schlettwein said it is understandable that affected schools close due to the floods, but life must go on.
"To stop activities is not a long-term solution. It is a shorter-term solution to cater for eventualities at that moment, but thereafter we must have an everlasting solution," he said.
'LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT'
The minister said people must learn to live with the floods.
"We cannot stop it. If we stop it , there will be no water. Water scarcity would be a bigger problem. There would be no water in the boreholes or in the oshanas," he said.
Schlettwein said although the floods are a blessing, the government will address the vulnerability of those affected, and those whose livelihoods have been disrupted.
"I have assessed the situation, and I have seen the impact, and there is a need to react," he said.
COLLABORATE
The minister urged the Ohangwena, Oshana, Oshikoto and Omusati regions to form a task force to help deal with the impact of the floods.
"The flood is not a regional thing, but a bigger thing. What happens in one region affects the others, so each region must know what is happening in the other region," Schlettwein said.
He said that this year's flood came too early, which he called "abnormal".
"Normally efundja comes in late February or March, but this is too early. One thing is that our telemetric stations have been vandalised, making it difficult for us to detect the flood," he said.
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However, in December last year, the ministry received information from its Angolan counterpart that flooding was developing in the eastern parts of the Cuvelai Basin, he said.
"This flood is linked to abnormal weather patterns, but we have to accept that a full efundja will unfold in the next days," he said.
'STOP USING CANAL'
Schlettwein said people have been observed bathing and washing their clothes in the canal.
"Please do not urinate in or near the canal. Go far. And remember, when you bath or wash there, you are leaving some dirt behind. I think the police can handle this," he said.
FLOOD UPDATE IN OHANGWENA
Senior ministry hydrologist Leonard Hango on Wednesday said water in the Oshana Sha Nalumhono has increased.
He said the flood has reached Oshakati and is heading to Ompundja.
A report provided by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology states that a total of 12 households at Ohaingu village in the Engela constituency were surrounded by water, and communities in the surrounding villages have to walk through water to access basic services.
When The Namibian visited the affected communities last week, it was observed that many mahangu fields were under water, fences destroyed and domestic animals such as chickens dead.
