Namibia is located on the eastern coast of Africa, neighboring the countries of Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. Namibia started tracking various weather data in the late 19th century, and while looking at this data, it is clear that their are issues coming that global warming is accelerating. Two hazards that Namibia must get an handle on as soon as possible is extreme weather and coastal erosion.
Namibia is located on the coast; a lot of its economic centers are located there as well. Because of this, coastal erosion is becoming an issue. The biggest culprit of this is rising sea levels. In 1992, a paper was published that noted that a rise in 20 cm would cause damage equivalent to "1 in 100 years) flood events. The effects of this is already being seen. For example, places like Sandwich Harbor and Conception Bay, both harbors that sailors frequented in the 20th century are no longer useable due to coastal erosion. While the Namibian Government claimed to be addressing issues, an audit in 2018 showed that recommendations were not being implements. Because Namibia is a country that consists largely of desert, the coastal areas are densely populated; Namibia would lose a lot of livable area if this issue is not addressed properly. One way to address this issue is to make sure the government is adequately tracking coastal changes; that way Namibia can address the worst hit areas right away. Another thing to do is to start using soft solutions such as beach nourishment to help build areas that can still be saved. In addition, the coastline seems to be a popular place to build apartments and living places for people. With the land being eroded from under them, it is time to relocated those buildings to safer ground. For the hardest hit areas, such as Sandwich Harbor, seawalls and groins would be a good solution. Namibia is at a low risk for cyclones, so the seawalls should be reasonably easy to maintain.
The biggest issue for Namibia however, is the risk of extreme weather. In particular, Namibia is at high risk of both heatwaves and flooding. A lot of this comes down to the way Namibia's landscape is set up. Namibia is majority desert, and heatwaves are a common occurrence. The temperature in Namibia's desert areas can range from 0C (32F) - 50 C (122F) in the same day. In addition, Namibia does not receive a lot of rain. The rain on average is around 14 inches. This means that a severe heatwave can cause massive damage. There are villages that are in the desert, and they get hit hard by these heatwaves. In particular, the lack of water and the intensity of the heat can make this catastrophic. The impact of this extends to the economy as well. Agriculture is a big employer in Namibia, and a heatwave in 2019 devested the meat industry there. In regards to flooding, it is hard to make that connection due to the fact that Namibia has such a dry landscape. However, the heatwaves make the flooding events worse. The land cannot absorb the rain that comes down, and the rivers in Namibia will overflow. Both of these events are worsened by climate change. Some solutions that Namibia can work towards is improving their prediction tools for both flooding and heatwaves. Being able to prepare for such events is crucial. In addition, educating the populace in regard to their flood risk and what to do would be ideal. For example, explaining to people how to act in a flooded environment ( not walking in flood water above their knees, moving cars to higher ground, etc) would be a great help. Also, getting a warning system in place would help reduce any potential casualties. Creating an evacuation area for cities is also a good idea.
The riskiest areas for these hazards are the coastal areas and desert areas. Because of this and also because these areas make up the majority of where Namibians live, education and risk mitigation will be the most useful. Moving homes away from rivers and the coast will help. In regards to heatwaves, global warming ensures that these will happen for years more. At the moment, predicting and getting aid (water, food, shade,etc) to those living in the heatwave areas is necessary.
If I were to build a house in Namibia, it would be in the city of Omaruru and away from the river's edge. In Namibia it would be hard to find a place that is completely isolated from any hazard. Omaruru has a good groundwater supply.
https://thinkhazard.org/en/report/172-namibia/EH
https://www.travelnewsnamibia.com/news/relentless-struggle-sea-shore/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4298042?seq=1
http://floodlist.com/africa/namibia-floods-windhoek-january-2021#:~:text=Heavy%20rain%20has%20continued%20to,the%20city%20since%20late%20December.&text=The%20average%20for%20January%20is,the%20start%20of%20the%20year.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/08/photos-along-the-namibian-coast/569041/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaruru,_Namibia
