The risk of flooding in villages along the Okavango Delta appears to have eased, according to the sub district’s Deputy District Commissioner, Thabang Waloka.
Speaking to Okavango Voice this week, Waloka revealed water levels in Mohembo have steadily declined recent weeks.
“There are just a few households that we may be forced to move but generally the water levels have gone down. Since April the water at Mohembo started going down, an indication that we may just have sufficient floods for our livelihood,” he declared happily.
Waloka further noted that whilst water has moved close to people’s homes in Etsha 13, they do not expect any properties to be affected.
“We have only encouraged home owners to be on alert and be ready to be moved if at all the water creeps in. But we doubt that could be the case,” he said, adding this year’s water levels should be sufficient to improve the livelihoods of these communities without causing excessive damage.
“The same water that sometimes leads to unwanted floods is a source of livelihood in communities in this area; they do fishing, farming and tourism activities,” highlighted the Deputy District Commissioner.
Following high volumes of water from Angola highlands that entered Mohembo from early January, the floods were expected to surpass those recorded ten years ago. It was feared flooding would force many in the Delta to evacuate their homesteads and move to higher ground.
However, Waloka pointed out that the infrastructure put in place during the 2010 floods has helped considerably in improving the water flow.
“During the 2010 floods, the government built bridges and culverts and I believe that has helped in controlling the flow away from people.”
