With heavy rainfall all over the country and KwaZulu-Natal recording the worst floods in recent history, many of South Africa’s dams are at full capacity.
The Gariep Dam in the centre of the country is overflowing, and visitors have taken to social media to share this site. Gariep Dam lies along the Orange River and It is the largest dam in South Africa with a capacity of 5,340,000 megalitres, spanning an area of 360km².
The Gariep Dam is currently at full capacity.
Gariep Dam this afternoon. Meanwhile NMB is achingly dry and KZN is flooding. pic.twitter.com/JtON7X7Oit
— Bronwyn Nortje (@bronwynnortje) April 12, 2022
Elsewhere in the country, Shongweni Dam in KwaZulu-Natal is at full capacity, where the fail-safe design of two of the gates collapsed to allow for a greater flow of water.
#ShongweniDam
The top of the dam is designed to tip & break off if the water level reaches danger levels. 2 of 6 concrete “buckets” that are designed to break in the instance of heavy flooding, have broken. So the water is flowing freely out the dam pic.twitter.com/bXw34a3zc6— Thabo Bluebird (@BlueTheDogDad) April 13, 2022
Water was released from Hazelmere Dam to release excess water, causing a cascade of water to flow into the uMdloti River.
Hazelmere Dam
Yooo. Guys Hazelmere Dam #KZNFlooding #KZNWeather pic.twitter.com/BGhRUkd2BA
— YouTube :silindokuhle_Khubone🇿🇦 (@makhubone) April 13, 2022
The department of Water and Sanitation has urged communities to steer away from areas downstream of dams and along water banks in KwaZulu-Natal as the water level is expected to rise drastically as more water is released.
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