{"id":2882,"date":"2016-01-25T07:34:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T05:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodthingsguy.com\/?p=2882"},"modified":"2023-03-30T16:08:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:08:50","slug":"rain-brings-some-relief-to-drought-disaster-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodthingsguy.com\/environment\/rain-brings-some-relief-to-drought-disaster-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain Brings Some Relief to Drought Disaster in South Africa…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Cape residents are cautiously celebrating after a week of rain that saw rivers swell, fields turn a tinge of green and a park close, due to the water levels.<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Northern Cape, South Africa (25 January 2016)<\/em> – The province is caught in one of the worst droughts \u2013 and several heatwaves \u2013 in decades. The heavens opened last Monday and in some areas, more rain was recorded this week than the entire rainfall for 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God! Saturday 25mm, Sunday it was 6mm, Monday 4mm, Tuesday 6mm and Wednesday and Thursday 26mm. This is only for this week. It\u2019s only January and already it\u2019s more than last year\u2019s entire winter rainfall of 62mm,\u201d Namaqualand resident, Micheal Jonas, posted on Facebook.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The rain also saw the Orange river \u2013 that snakes through most of the province \u2013 rise.<\/p>\n

All the parks in the Northern Cape received good rains, SANParks said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPontoon in the Richtersveld is temporarily closed because of the strong current of the river. It also rained until late Friday night at Augrabies and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park,\u201d said SANParks’ Nadia Lemmetuis.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More rain is needed to make a meaningful dent.<\/p>\n

While the current was strong at Augrabies, it was not yet in flood. The park was monitoring the situation.<\/p>\n

There were several reports of localised flooding. Residents at Kamieskroon in the Namaqualand as well as Upington in the Northern Cape said several roads were briefly flooded over the weekend. None, however, required action, according to spokespeople from various municipalities in the areas.<\/p>\n

The SA Weather Bureau earlier warned of localised flooding because of the condition of land as a result of the drought.<\/p>\n

Representatives of organised agriculture in the province said they were happy about the rain, but were still calculating how much and, more importantly, where, the rain fell. While welcomed, good follow-up rains well into February and beyond was needed to make a meaningful dent in the persistent drought conditions across the province.<\/p>\n

Sunny skies were predicted across the province this week, with temperatures hovering around the early 30s.<\/p>\n

South Africans still need to be water-wise and assist the country in this crisis… volunteers and initiatives have been set up to collect & distribute both water & grass cuttings (for animals in need) around the country.<\/p>\n

Click here for more info.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Source: Operation Hydrate<\/i><\/h6>\n
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