Mpumalanga/Limpopo mop up after floods

Abstract

The causeway over the Olifant River at Balule. Flood water went through the Tshokwane picnic area at a height of more than 2 metres. This popular picnic area will be closed for a few months for repair. Debris against the fence to show the level of the flood water through T alamati Bushveld Camp. South Africa again showed why it is a land of extremes when parts of Limpopo and the Mpumalanga Lowveld flooded in January. The flooding followed unusually heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Dando off the Mozambican coast. The town of Hoedspruit, for example, recorded as much as 400 mm of rain in a few days – almost its entire average annual rainfall. Scenes of raging rivers overtopping bridges and roads as well as dramatic rescue attempts made national news headlines. The Hoedspruit area as well as five municipalities in Ehlanzeni district, in Mpumalanga were declared disaster areas, with damage to road, water and agricultural-related infrastructure estimated at hundreds of millions of Rands.

Categories