AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - Floods: serious damages to farms and to housing in northern zones

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) – Serious damage to farms has been caused by heavy summer rains affecting South Africa and which have destroyed numerous houses. The province most seriously affected is the Northern Cape, along with that of the North West. In the province of Kwazulu-Natal 39 deaths have been recorded until now due to floods and lightning. Another 34 people have been evacuated in the Ivory Park area, north of Johannesburg. Tshwane community safety spokesperson, William Baloyi, said four people were rescued in separate incidents when they were swept away in their vehicles as the Hennops River pushed through Centurion. Further south, 34 people were evacuated after emergency calls started coming through after midnight from Thembakazi informal settlement. Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Percy Morokane said, “There were fast moving torrential currents of water. People were under threat of being washed away.” They evacuated people from that settlement as well as from Rabie Ridge and Ebony Park. Agricultural Minster Tina Joemat-Pettersson was distressed on Sunday after a flight over flooded agricultural areas along the Vaal River in the Northern Cape and Northwest Province to see damages caused by the floods in Douglas, Prieska and Warrenton in Northern Cape and Christiana in North West. It is estimated that 20,000 hectares of agricultural fields were underwater. Due to the huge agricultural area flooded, there were also concerns about the knock-on effect of threatening higher food prices later on, which may cause inflation to rise. The Orange River also burst its banks and food parcels had to be delivered towards Pofadder, with several rescue operations taking place as roads flooded. More rain has been predicted by the South African Weather Service across large parts of the country in the following days. (AP) (18/1/2011 Agenzia Fides)