Heavy rains over parts of the central Karoo at the weekend have inflicted millions of rands of damage to roads and bridges in the region, and caused at least one dam to overflow, the Western Cape government reported on Monday.
In a statement, local government minister Cobus Dowry, responsible for disaster management in the province, said communities downstream have been warned about possible flooding.
”There were some heavy rains over the weekend in the Koub and Moordenaarskaroo. The Floriskraal dam in the Buffels River is 100% full, whilst the Gamkaspoort dam in the Dwyka River is overflowing.
”People in Die Hel and Calitzdorp have been warned about possible flooding.”
The heavy rains caused damage estimated at about R3,5-million to gravel roads and bridges around Laingsburg, and a farmhouse in the area was flooded.
Within the Laingsburg municipal area itself, there was ”limited damage” to secondary roads.
”The Swartberg mountains also had heavy rains, and water is on its way to the Gouritz River. The Eden District Municipality has been warned.”
Dowry said his province’s disaster management team is monitoring the situation.
The heavy rains also helped firefighters bring under control the blaze that was raging in the mountains above Stellenbosch since last Thursday.
”Although there are still some hotspots in the area, it is being monitored by fire-fighting teams,” he said. — Sapa