Zambezi Flood
Monday, 30. March 2009, 10:02:56
The flooding along the upper Zambezi river and its tributaries is the worst since 1969. Flooding in the upper Zambezi river basin has already displaced hundreds of thousands in Angola, Namibia and Zambia. Zambia's air force began airlifting relief supplies on Friday 27 march. Namibia has declared a state of emergency. At least 100 people have died. Crocodiles and hippos are swimming through the flood waters, attacking and killing people. Field after field of crops have been destroyed, as have houses, schools, health centres and roads. More than 20 000 families have been displaced.
The waters of the Okavango delta in Botswana have reached their highest levels since 1939.
In Angola the flooding has affected more than 200 000 people . So far at least 20 people are dead.
The north of the Zambezi basin has mean annual rainfall of 1100 to 1400 mm which declines towards the south, reaching about half that figure in the south-west. The rain falls in a 4 to 6 month rainy season when the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone moves over the basin from the north. The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, is a region that circles the Earth, near the equator, where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together. The intense sun and warm water of the equator heats the air in the ITCZ, raising its humidity and causing it to rise. As the air rises it cools, releasing the accumulated moisture in an almost perpetual series of thunderstorms.
• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Rain-soaked_southern_Africa_hit_by_worst_floods_in_years_999.html
• http://www.reuters.com/article/unitedNations/idUSLR643933
PS of 31 March 2009:
There are now new satellite images and more information at NASA's Earth Observatory.
The waters of the Okavango delta in Botswana have reached their highest levels since 1939.
In Angola the flooding has affected more than 200 000 people . So far at least 20 people are dead.
The north of the Zambezi basin has mean annual rainfall of 1100 to 1400 mm which declines towards the south, reaching about half that figure in the south-west. The rain falls in a 4 to 6 month rainy season when the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone moves over the basin from the north. The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, is a region that circles the Earth, near the equator, where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together. The intense sun and warm water of the equator heats the air in the ITCZ, raising its humidity and causing it to rise. As the air rises it cools, releasing the accumulated moisture in an almost perpetual series of thunderstorms.
• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Rain-soaked_southern_Africa_hit_by_worst_floods_in_years_999.html
• http://www.reuters.com/article/unitedNations/idUSLR643933
PS of 31 March 2009:
There are now new satellite images and more information at NASA's Earth Observatory.
WIDGETIZE