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Southern Africa Floods and Cyclones: Overview of 2010/2011 Rainfall Season, December 2010 to May 2011

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This report was issued by the Regional Office for Southern & Eastern Africa (ROSEA). It covers the period January 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.

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