Edited by Bev Mortimer-A couple of cyclists on the Rhino Run were assisted by NSRI and other rescue services on Sunday this past weekend when they were floundered in the flooded Sonderend River. Sonderend River in flood The woman's cycle was submerged near to where she climbed a tree to escape the flood waters while…
Today, 17 August 2021, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the Western Cape visited the Theewaterskloof Dam. The Theewaterskloof Dam is an earth-fill dam located on the Sonderend River near Villiersdorp. This is the biggest dam in the Western Cape and is part of the Western Cape Water Supply System. “The Theewaterskloof Dam is over the 100% level, a remarkable improvement over previous years”, says the Acting DWS Western Cape Head, Boniswa Hene. Though DWS is generally pleased with how storage dams are filling, the Gouritz River Catchment remains a concern. There has been a prolonged and lower-than-normal rainfall for the last 5 years in the Gouritz River Catchment System which has caused water-stressed conditions in some areas of this region. The Little Karoo in particular is in a dire water situation with a potentially devastating impact to the Agro-economy of that region.
Floods: 45 farmworkers rescued | George Herald georgeherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from georgeherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NSRI
Rescue workers used boats and jet skis to ferry the families to safety.
The rescue operation took around six hours.
Forty-five farmworkers and a dog were rescued from rising waters as Riviersonderend flooded during a severe storm on Thursday.
The heavy rain and strong winds resulted in flooding in many areas and, by Thursday, two people had died, two had been reported missing and hundreds had been evacuated.
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At around 12:40, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) responded to a call at the Sonderend River in Riviersonderend in the Overberg region of the Western Cape. Overberg Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and police were investigating a situation where rising flood waters had trapped farmworkers on one side of the river since Wednesday. NSRI Kleinmond dispatched our NSRI rescue vehicle, with an NSRI Croc, and towing a sea rescue craft, said Schalk Boonzaaier, NSRI Kleinmond station commander.