Efundja! (Flood!)

Before coming to Namibia, the thought of Africa conjured two images: HOT and DRY. These days, there’re only two words on my mind: WATER and FLOODS. Northern Namibia is currently experiencing the worst floods ever recorded. According to an article I read, the water levels are 8 cm higher than the previous record floods in 2008.

Just as most other things, it isn’t exactly as you’d imagine it. “Flood” makes me think of rivers overflowing their banks and sweeping away cars and houses, but this kind of flood is different. Since there are no dams, levees or river re-routing, this is a “natural” flood. On one hand, this flooding is expected – north central Namibia is essentially a floodplain.

But on the other hand, flooding isn’t a yearly event. From what I’ve read, 2 to 3 major floods occur in each 20 year period (data from the last century). But this is exceptional - in the last few years, we’ve already met this quota with floods in 2008, 2009 and 2011. This makes me fear that global warming will cause years of terrible flooding and terrible drought, therefore terrible suffering, in this area in coming decades. Climate change truly is a global issue.

The progress of the floods has been slow, not dramatic: an entire weekend of rain caused the oshanas (shallow, ephemeral lakes) to grow larger and larger and eventually link together. But the main culprit is not the localized rainfall, it is the water from Angola. All of this water slowly moves southward and settles into the Etosha Pan, and Owamboland just happens to be in the path.

So, for the past week, we’ve been walking through the flood waters. At times it reminds me of canoeing the Crystal River in central Wisconsin. As I walk through the water, I often catch a glimpse of little silver fish darting in and out of weeds that are bending under the gentle current. But then there are moments that I’m knee-deep in murky, mucky water wondering what type of animals (snakes) or parasites (schisto) might be living in the water.

I’m lucky, though – I only live 1 kilometre from the main road and the school, so I’ve had it easy. The majority of my students have to walk for an hour or more, sometimes through waist-high water. Not only is it inconvenient (walking through water takes twice as long), but it’s dangerous. According to an article, 21 students (throughout Namibia) have already drowned. Because of this, many schools (including mine) have temporarily closed until the water recedes.

As it became apparent that more and more PCVs were under water, PC decided to move us to a nearby city before the water got so high that it would be impossible to evacuate us in an emergency. So now we wait in limbo – water refugees. (Though I’m not complaining – it’s great to have electricity, a hot shower and TV. Plus, I can watch movies on my computer and read books without being watched! Though I'm sure this won't last for long.)