Changing rains, poor urban planning expose Zambian capital to repeat of 2010 floods

Almost a year since flood waters wrought havoc on the Zambian capital, Lusaka is bracing for more of the same as poor urban planning exacerbates the effects of changing weather patterns.

Lusaka was inundated in March 2010. Water rose above the window levels of many houses, strong currents carried away pieces of market stalls and boys hoisted fishing nets to catch whatever they could from the gullies where, not long before, they had walked to school.

Typically, March marks the end of the country’s rainy season but last year, rains were prolonged and fell harder than ever. Now, it is rainy season once again in Zambia, with the Department of Meteorology predicting above-normal rainfall through March.