The heavy and destructive rains that came down on the Western Cape did not fail to boost the City’s dam levels, bringing the overall storage to a monumental 70.1%.
This week the Disaster Operations Centre logged 43 flooding-related incidents, 122 power outages across the metropole, nine incidents of trees that had blown over or fallen branches, and two incidents where roofs had been blown off in Masiphumelele and Burundi informal settlement due to the adverse weather conditions.
The news of the dam levels gives locals reason to rejoice in spite of the damage the rains have done. The dam levels officially pushed past the 70% mark today, a goal that has not been reached in years.
Both the Berg River and Steenbras Lower dams are over the 100% mark and the least full dams in the province are Theewaterskloof which sits at 60.2% and Steenbras Lower at 60.4%.
This time last year, dams sat at 56.3% overall. The Cape’s dams have certainly come a long way this year and the rainy season is not even over.
Next week three days of rain are on the cards for the Mother City from Monday through to Wednesday, and weather conditions are expected to be similar to this week’s.
Monday has a 70% chance of precipitation as well as highs of 17°C and lows of 12°C and Tuesday has a 40% chance of bringing rain to the Mother City and a cooler day in store, with highs of 13°C and lows of 8°C. Wednesday will end off the week’s rainy spell along with highs of 13°C and chilly lows of 7°C.
If next week’s rains are anything like this week’s were, a substantial increase in dam water levels is in store for Cape Town.
Picture: Twitter