Johannesburg - The Vaal Dam is its fullest in 13 years, with 16 open flood gates letting out 2 040m³ of water per second, water affairs officials said on Thursday.
"The most flood gates that we've had open to date were 17 - and that was in the late 80s
The Bloemhof dam's capacity is expected to peak at 117% on February 2
"Communities residing in the vicinity of the Vaal Orange River System are again being warned to stay clear of the river. The department wishes to re-iterate the warning that recreational activities such as canoeing, boating... should not be undertaken until further notice."
Meanwhile, the Mpumalanga water affairs department warned Standerton residents against possible flooding.
"The department... would like to issue a word of special warning to people living in Standerton, around the Grootdraai dam catchment in the Lekwa Municipality to be on full alert, as the sluice gates have been opened to release water.
"The opening of the sluice gates has been necessitated by the heavy downpours with reports of over 100mm in areas close to Morgenzon and 75mm in Predekop as reported on Tuesday night. These heavy downpours have led to the dam rising to 110.1%
Recently the Benoni area was also affected by the dam in the central part also bursting its banks.
These are a couple of the pics that i got sent
The weather patterns around the world are calling for a huge global wake up call. Spare a thought for all those people affected and brace yourself for more to come.
Haiti has just given the world a taste of whats to come.
However! When it's so close to home, you really start asking questions.
I am and always will be an optimist. I look at everything with the glass half full theory. The times they are a changing. As South Africans we need to change with them.
Cheers
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