INVESTIGATING FLOOD HAZARDS ON RICE PRODUCTION ALONG SONGWE RIVER IN KARONGA DISTRICT

Floods by definition is referred to as body of water which rises to overflow land which is not normally submerged (Ward, 1978). There are several types of flooding and some of them are riverine floods happen from the spilling of the major rivers and their tributaries and distributaries which is most extensive when the three major rivers are in peak stage at the same time, rainfall induced flood this kind of flood is most common in low-lying areas where the drainage facilities are not very organized, flash flood is characterized by a very sharp rise of water level in the rivers that causes sudden overbank spillages. The short durations and supercritical velocities often cause high degrading effects and storm surges this category of flood is also known as coastal flooding as storm surges are caused by tropical cyclone and leads towards massive damage of the lives and properties in the coastal areas. The primary reason behind the surge is the pressure differential in cyclonic storm and the high winds.
According to this study results show that flooding a long Songwe river in Karonga district is influenced by a number of factors and are categorized into two that is natural factors which include heavy rains, overflowing of rivers, lack of vegetation and channels with steep sides and human induced factors namely deforestation and poor agricultural practices.
Flooding has both positive and negative impacts. According to this study it has been found out that the negative effects outweigh the positive effects. That is why it is required to come up with the following possible solutions to alleviant the problem the communities are facing and these are construction of dyke or dam, planting other flood-resistant crops, agricultural diversification, improving rice varieties, afforestation or re-afforestation and good agricultural practices.