The South African government on Friday called for vigilance among communities living near major rivers after two of the country’s main dams started overflowing following recent heavy rains.
Ministry of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the storage capacity of Vaal dam near Johannesburg stood at 111.1 percent on Thursday, indicating an increase of 0.6 percent from a day before, while that for Bloemhof dam, located in North West province, stood at 111 percent.
He said ministry had decided to keep the Vaal and Bloemhof dam sluice gates open as the outflow of water remains high.
“We ask the downstream communities to remain vigilant,” Ratau said.
He added: “Communities living near the Lower Orange should also keep a watchful eye as flows are forecast to increase significantly starting over the weekend.”
Some households living along the Bloemhof Dam and Vaal River banks were earlier this week evacuated from their homes amid flood fears.
The government this week classified the current summer rains as a national disaster after they triggered floods, landslides and strong winds that claimed at least 80 lives and damaged property, infrastructure and the environment.
JN/APA