Flood warning issued as more rain forecast

2011-01-05 13:39

Johannesburg - The water affairs department issued a flood warning on Wednesday after two days of heavy rainfall soaked parts of the country.

"Communities residing near the four major dams (Vaal, Bloemhof, Gariep and Vanderkloof dams) should exercise extreme caution," spokesperson Linda Page said just before noon.

Over the past 24 hours, the Vaal dam had reached a capacity of 105.5% and the outflow had increased substantially.

The Bloemhof Dam was 101% full and was expected to increase outflow to 1 300 cubic metres per second by 16:00, and 1 700m cubic metres per second by 17:00 on Wednesday.

The Gariep Dam was at 109.8% full and the outflow was 1 600 cubic metres per second while the Vanderkloof Dam reached the capacity of 105.8%.

Its outflow of 950 cubic metres per second was expected to increase to 2 000 cubic metres per second.

More rain forecast

"As more rain has been forecast by the SA Weather service it is expected that additional measures will be taken to release more water from the dams," Page said.

A man's body was found floating in the Ladysmith floods, the municipality said on Wednesday.

“One person was found in the water dead. He must have drowned. He was found around 15:00 yesterday [Tuesday],” said Ladysmith deputy mayor Fana Madlala.

Across the country, the heavy downpour had cut off roads, uprooted trees, collapsed bridges, marooned farms, wrecked crops, damaged cars, flooded homes and swept away shacks.

Affected areas included Moretele, Hammanskraal, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Mamelodi, Nkandla, Nquthu, Winburg, Senekal, and parts of Mpumalanga.

Simphiwe Kunene, co-operate governance spokesperson in Mpumalanga, said a warning of possible flooding had been issued in their province.

"We warn all residents of the province to be on full alert as heavy rains and windstorms have been predicted for the province for the next few days," he said.

"A special warning is being made to those living in low lying areas and next to flood lines... continued rains can lead to the increase of dam and river levels thus making small streams very dangerous."

He urged people to move to higher ground. All Mpumalanga municipalities were on standby to respond to flooded areas, said Kunene.

Scores left homeless

Tshwane community safety spokesperson William Baloyi said several informal settlements in Mamelodi had been destroyed and scores of families left homeless.

"Their basic necessities, clothing and other belongings were swept away.

"The flooding is serious and they need to be evacuated... so right now, we are trying to move them into churches and available halls."

Mayor Raymond Motsepe from the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality said an emergency relief delegation would be sent to the Moretele and Hammanskraal area where hundreds of families had been displaced.

Moretele and Hammanskraal are situated near the North West province border.

In Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, about 50 houses were flooded on Tuesday.

The central business district was affected and businesses were forced to close.

The Gift of the Givers said teams from Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg were ready to respond to the affected areas.

"Our teams at both offices are ready to respond if local and provincial authorities request assistance outside government departments," spokesperson Imtiaz Sooliman said on Wednesday.

"Having 18 vehicles of our own, including five trucks and more than R15m in backup supplies we are well positioned to respond if needed."

He said they had tents, blankets, new clothing, shoes, bottled water, cooked food, food parcels and hygiene packs available if necessary.

The SABC reported that low-lying bridges along the N5 highway in the Free State were flooded.

Transport department spokesperson Zolile Walaza urged motorists to be cautious and wait for the rain to subside instead of trying to cross bridges.

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- SAPA