President Hifikepunye Pohamba this week declared the floods in northern and north-eastern Namibia an emergency and called on the private sector and the international community to be ready to render assistance when approached. Assistance will be needed to refurbish roads and all other infrastructure damaged by the flood. The Oshakati Bridge is already said to be cracking. Various government buildings including schools have been damaged.

Thousands of people have been displaced, communal farmers have lost around 25000 animals and 17 schools in the Ohangwena Region alone have been adversely affected.
“This situation repeats itself in the Oshana and Omusati regions. Thus, the necessary interventions must be put into operation to face this emergency,” said Pohamba.
The flood had resulted in widespread crop losses as well as of animals. “As a result, large quantities of cereal will have to be sourced in order to prevent widespread hunger. The 2007/8 rainy season was delayed in the North. This significantly reduced crop-growing conditions and is likely to reduce the yield prospects by at least 40% compared to the 2006/7 harvest. In this context, we must act quickly,” the President said.
Many communal farmers have reduced the areas under cultivation by as much as 50% due to water logging and the unavailability of draught animals, which were in a poor state due to drought. Grazing pastures in large parts of the northern communal areas are poor as a result of excessive water and will not be able to sustain livestock farming.
Pohamba said more floodwater had arrived from Angola recently while forecasts indicated that more rain was still to come.
Government is also very concerned that the recent outbreak of army worms in the Oshana and Oshikoto regions poses a major threat to crops and pasture. “This state of affairs is likely to aggravate the already desperate situation,” Pohamba said.
The President said it is necessary that government acts immediately and that the necessary steps be taken timeously to avert a crisis which could grow out of all proportion. The Emergency Management Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister has been mandated to co-ordinate the relief effort and Pohamba invited partners to work closely with them.
"This could be the worst such disaster in many years. As a result, the survival of a large percentage of our population in Namibia is under serious threat. People of my age are saying that this is the worst serious flood experienced in many years,” Pohamba said.