Warning to communities living near Vaal and Bloemhof dam floodplains to 'move as soon as possible'

The department of water and sanitation has warned communities living near the floodplains of the Vaal Dam and the Bloemhof Dam in the North West to move as far away as possible to avoid flooding.

The department said projections by hydrologists are that Bloemhof would reach 100% capacity by Saturday and that eight sluice gates would be opened to avoid the dam from bursting‚ while the Vaal Dam is expected to open two sluice gates on Sunday.

• Flood warnings issued for parts of GautengThe South African Weather Service issued a warning on Tuesday for heavy rain leading to flooding in Gauteng and other parts of the country.

"The department would like to warn all communities that live on the floodplains of the two dams to move as soon as possible as they would be exposed to possible flooding‚" the department said on Thursday.

It warned communities to be vigilant‚ to avoid the same life-threatening flash floods experienced near the Augrabies Falls in the Northern Cape this week.

"In the past week parts of South Africa experienced torrential rains due to the ex-cyclone Tropical Dineo in KwaZulu-Natal‚ Mpumalanga and Limpopo. When the storm dissipated it was followed by more torrential rains that were caused by tropical conditions that have their origins in the equator‚" the department said in a statement.

The department said that all the dams in the North West‚ except Molatedi and Klein Marico dams‚ had reached full capacity.

"The department is closely monitoring Mearns Dam in KwaZulu-Natal whose level has zoomed to an astounding 121.83%. No one has died as a result of the water level of the dam but the department‚ together with the Provincial Disaster Management Committee have warned people living on the dam’s catchment to relocate immediately‚" the department said.

The department gave an update on dam levels across the country‚ which included the following for KwaZulu-Natal: Albert Falls – 29.36%‚ Inanda – 63.59%‚ Mearns – 121.83%‚ Midmar – 67.45%‚ Nagel – 87.45%‚ and Springrove – 74.55%.

The department also gave updates on other dam levels in the North West: Molatedi Dam (Groot Marico River) 50%‚ Hartbeespoort Dam 100% (gates opened) Roodekoppies Dam 106%‚ all 8 gates open‚ and other dams: Gariep Dam measured 71.8%‚ Bloemhof Dam 64.5% and Grootdraai Dam 102% (gates opened)