Orange River Could Flood

Jana-Mari Smith

10 June 2011

A winter flood wave is heading to the lower Orange River following torrential rains in South Africa this week.

Yesterday, Guido van Langenhove, head of the Namibian Hydrological Services, warned that water levels in the lower Orange River are expected to rise to six and a half metres at Noordoewer by the middle of next week.

Although it is much lower than flood levels in January and February this year, Van Langenhove said it is important that residents are notified.

“It will not cause any damage,” he said, but nonetheless, people are warned to take out water pumps and be prepared.

The appearance of a flood wave this time of the year is “definitely not normal” for the dry season, he agreed.

The floodwater originates downstream of large dams in South Africa.

South Africa was inundated with heavy rains, snow and freezing cold this week. The same weather system impacted on parts of Namibia, which on Tuesday was plunged into ice cold, snow-producing weather.

Professor Kobus Botha, a weather analyst who runs the renowned website www.weatherphotos.co.za, described the cold system, which led to white, snow-covered landscapes in Namibia as an “extremely unusual” system, which did not behave in a predictable manner.

The heavy rains this time of the year in South Africa, which brought more than 100 millimetres to some places and led to several floods across South Africa, originated from a cold front which moved in a “different pattern” than usual, Botha said.

“It’s a different pattern which is not easily explained,” he admitted. “We are astounded about the rains, especially the volume of rain.”

Disaster management teams in South Africa have battled to rescue South Africans from unexpected floods in several areas.

Weather forecasters have confirmed that the cold front which brought the heavy rains has begun to move away again from the continent.

Van Langenhove said that the coming flood in the lower Orange River will impact the “lowest lying areas in the Noordoewer irrigation scheme” for a short time.

“But there would be no risk for Aussenkehr and also not for the informal settlement there.”

According to the flood forecast, the floodwater will peak on Sunday.

AllAfrica – All the Time