Assessment Of Floods And Their Management Practices In River Songwe Catchment

ABSTRACT

Every year flooding of Songwe River has brought severe problems in the lower part

of its catchment located in Kyela District. Frequently floods lead to loss of people‟s

lives, destructions of infrastructures and properties. This study made an assessment

of floods and their management practices in Songwe River Catchment particularly at

Kabanga and Ndwanga villages which are found in Kyela District (Mbeya Region).

The specific Objectives were to identify the main patterns of floods, detect the

relationships between rainfall and water stages for long-term period and assessment

of the management practices and the roles of the government institutions in the

reduction of the flood effect. The study used household survey and key informant

interviews to collect data from 83 households and 9 key informants. The collected

both primary and secondary data were analyzed through Hydrometeorological Data

Screening, Flood Recurrence Interval Theory, Stochastic Hydrological Models and

Statistical Parameters. From the findings of the study, an analysis of rainfall at

Tenende Weather Station and water levels at Kasumulu Gauge Station helped to

identify flood patterns. Particularly, the Songwe River catchment has been

experiencing uni-modal season of rains, where all precipitations fall in one season.

The floods were grouped into three categories: floods with single peak; floods with

several peaks and sprawled floods. Thus, the study results show that the villages of

Kabanga and Ndwanga in Kyela District are affected by floods of different

frequencies every year, latrines were flooded which led to an outbreak of waterborne

diseases. The study recommends for the introduction and implementation of

flood prediction practices, flood policy, and flood fight education.

Key words: flood, flood effect, flood prediction, flood management, Songwe River