South Africa: 2 More Vaal Dam Floodgates Opened – Meaning A High Chance Of Flooding In The Northern Cape – Eagle News Feed
two floodgates have been opened at the Vaal Dam, which could lead to possibly more flooding in South Africa
A further two floodgates have been opened at the Vaal Dam, which could lead to possibly more flooding.
This brings the total to 12 floodgates that are opened in the province.
The two gates were opened on Saturday, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“At Bloemhof Dam, the outflow was increased to 2400 cubic meters per second by this afternoon,” Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said.
According to News 24, the department warned that high water levels and possible flooding are anticipated at the town of Douglas in the Northern Cape, at the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers, due to releases from the Vanderkloof and Bloemhof Dams, and residents have been urged to be alert and may need to evacuate where necessary to avoid harm or the loss of lives.
“With the continuing heavy rains in large parts of the country, many rivers are overflowing, and most dams are full and spilling over. The Vaal and Orange River system is also experiencing rapidly rising water levels and has necessitated the opening of the gates to safeguard the infrastructure from collapsing,” added Mavasa.
Several incidents of flooding have been reported across the country over the weekend, affecting hundreds of people.
The department added that every year, ahead of the high-flow summer season rains, it develops a Flood Preparedness Plan and implements flood monitoring and forecasting systems, and also assesses the likelihood of flood incidents and its own preparedness to mitigate the adverse effects of these floods on its infrastructure and guarantee full capacity on its storage reservoirs.
