Families face challenges after floods

The Red Cross has announced that emergency operations in Namibia's flood-hit Caprivi region are almost over. About 5,000 people were displaced and a further 15,000 affected by flooding earlier this year, the worst in almost 50 years. It "left a trail of destruction to property and disrupted the functioning of the communities in the region," the Namibia Red Cross said in a statement. The Namibian government and Red Cross, with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, "rushed in to rescue many people whose lives were under threat from the flooding Zambezi River. The government evacuated people from the worst affected villages and relocated them to safe areas, where the Red Cross provided them with shelter, blankets, mosquito nets and water purification tablets to prevent the outbreak of diseases". "At the beginning of the emergency, Namibia Red Cross and the Federation's regional delegation urgently dispatched relief items to the affected areas in response to the needs of the flood victims. Red Cross staff and volunteers who were trained in providing health and hygiene education were also deployed in all the camps, while a local radio station was also used to raise awareness on health and hygiene issues. Several water sources were rehabilitated, whilst 5,000-litre tanks were installed to provide clean water at Impalila and Lusese camps [for flood refugees]," the Red Cross said. William Corkill, the Red Cross regional water and sanitation delegate, noted that "a huge challenge" awaited the government, the Red Cross and the affected families because infrastructure in the region was destroyed by the floods, and affected families had lost their possessions. "There is an urgent need to make funds available to Namibia Red Cross so that they quickly rehabilitate important infrastructure, such as water sources. If this is not done in time, there is very high possibly of disease outbreaks," Corkill was quoted as saying.