Southern Africa - Floods and Cyclones Overview of 2010/2011 Rainfall Season: December 2010 to May 2011
I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
· In total, an estimated 708,000 people were affected by floods and/or storms in southern Africa this rainfall season, with 314,361 either displaced or evacuated and 477 people killed.
· In comparison with the previous four seasons, the 2010/2011 flood season was average in terms of number of people affected, although the number of deaths was markedly high.
· Heavy rains early in the season affected Mozambique, South Africa and Lesotho. South Africa, which is usually not seriously affected by flooding, experienced large-scale devastation.
· Only three tropical cyclones were recorded, and only one - Bingiza – affected the region, hitting Madagascar in late February 2011. Bingiza caused 14 deaths and displaced 19,000 people.
· Northern Namibia experienced severe flooding later in the season, affecting an estimated 228,000 people.
· Angola experienced flooding throughout the rainfall season, with new information indicating that 254,000 people had been affected, 234 killed, 67 missing and 204,000 displaced.
Format: Digital (Free) (ill., maps)