By Jana Hoops
Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Five metro-area scientists leave today for Botswana to share flood-warning technology honed in Mississippi.

The scientists, a team from the U.S. Geological Survey office in Pearl, will travel 9,000 miles to the southern African country that's seen devastating flooding along the Limpopo River.

About 2,100 pounds of ladders, saws, drills, power generators, concrete shovels, gas torches and other construction equipment is already en route to Johannesburg, where the team will stop Saturday on its way to the Botswanan capitol of Gaborone.

"You wouldn't believe how many people are involved in this around the world," said hydrologist Phil Turnipseed of Brandon, who'll be heading the team, which also includes three people from the Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis and one from Menlo Park, Calif.

Metro-area scientists leaving today for Botswana include Turnipseed, hydrologists Karl Winters of Jackson and Trent Baldwin of Ridgeland, and hydrologic technicians Shane Stocks of Raymond and David Massingill of Richland.

Turnipseed said nearly 200 people are working together around the world to pull off the effort.

The metro-area group was chosen by the Geological Survey's national headquarters to lead the U.S. effort to provide Botswana with the latest warning technology after a flood driven by tropical cyclone Eline dumped torrents of rain on the country in 2000.

The storm left tens of thousands homeless and caused $285 million worth of economic losses. Crops and transportation infrastructure were wiped out.

Flood early-warning technology is in short supply in Botswana.

"We have 125 river gauges in Mississippi," Turnipseed said. "Botswana is about the size of Texas, and they have 36."

The project, dubbed Village Flood Watch, is funded by a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. It focuses on improved preparedness, warning and response in the Limpopo River Basin in eastern Botswana, where about 80 percent of the country's 1.5 million people live.

Lack of communication compounds the flood threat in Botswana, hydrologist Winters said. "When we are expecting a flood here at home, we know it because it rains for days. But there, it may be raining in the head waters (of the river basin) maybe 200 miles away. All this rain is building up, heading along, and the people in the next village don't even know it. It may take a week later for the water to come, and then it's too late."

The team leaving today will work to start monitoring stations that will provide real-time information via the Internet and meteorological stations at schools to gauge rainfall.

Members also will survey rivers in the Limpopo River basin and document peak floods of 1999 and 2000.

Others will follow them to Botswana. On Sept. 20, hydrologist John Storm of Madison and hydrologic technician Allen Roberts of Pearl leave for four weeks to train and provide computer equipment.

The Bay St. Louis-Menlo Park team leaves in mid-October for a two-week training session.

After the funding for the project comes to an end in December, Turnipseed said, his office will monitor the river data from Botswana on a daily basis via the Internet.

"We will continue to be a consulting ear for them," Turnipseed said.

Even though the team members have braced themselves for the possibility of dodging hippos and crocodiles while working in the region, Turnipseed believes the people will make the work worthwhile.

Having already made a preparatory trip to Botswana in May, Turnipseed said, he's already befriended the villagers.

"What really struck me was the people," Turnipseed said. "To me, it looked like they had smiles in their eyes. They had a bright thankfulness about them. I was taken by that."