INTERNATIONAL AID FOR NAMIBIA IN AFTERMATH OF FLOODS

NEW YORK, 8 March (OCHA) -- Namibia is beginning to recover in the aftermath of flooding in late February.  On 25 February, the western side of the town of Mariental in Namibia was flooded after sluices of the Hardap Dam, which are fed by more than eight rivers, had to be opened to alleviate its rising waters.  By 28 February, the situation had improved as floodwaters subsided.

While the main road going to South Africa has been re-opened, it suffered significant damage and warrants immediate repair.  To date, five people have died due to the floods while 330 households (2,100 people) remained displaced as of 3 March.  Since schools are about to resume, the displaced people will have to be relocated.  Although the sewerage system is being restored, and water tankers are being placed in strategic areas of the town, only one water reservoir is functional and water quality remains a problem.

On the national level, following a visit to the area to assess the level of destruction, the President of Namibia indicated that the Government would make available $1,500,000 to restore life to normal, repair roads, and rehabilitate health facilities and other damaged infrastructure.  The Namibian Emergency Management Unit has been delivering food and cooking oil to the affected population.  Water and sanitation engineers have also been deployed to Mariental and the Namibian Red Cross Society has distributed 25,000 water purification tablets.

In addition, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva has approved Disaster Relief Emergency Fund funds and the Regional Delegation in Harare has sent relief supplies.  The Humanitarian Service of the Church of Jesus Christ, based in Johannesburg, will disburse $5,000 for the purchase of oral rehydration salts.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will shortly provide an additional 10,000 water purification tablets to the Emergency Management Unit.  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has allocated $6,600 for the provision of hygiene kits to the 330 affected households.  The United Nations is dispatching these kits to Mariental in liaison with Namibian Red Cross Society.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 5126, mobile:  +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 9262; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 2653, mobile:  +41 79 473 4570.

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For information media • not an official record