http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1140669181571R131

Details of the quake.

Certainly made the windows rattle in Harare!

Is Kariba Dam wall still standing ?

Sadly yes, Kariba is still standing. But one more good cyclone comming up the valley from the coast and it could well be time to pick up a decent surf board.

Maybe Nyaminyami has had all he can take and will finally seek retribution for the building of the dam by taking it out and returning the Zambezi to a free flowing river.

465H&H

Was the building of Lake Kariba a bad thing?

whatda ya mean damage the dam - old uncle bob has surely kept up on the maintenance program hasn't he

450No2

It depends on whether you are one of the many wild animals roaming the Zambezi Valley or using electricity in your home in Harare.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
450No2

It depends on whether you are one of the many wild animals roaming the Zambezi Valley or using electricity in your home in Harare.

465H&H

I seem to recall that quite a lot of people, and not only animals, were displaced too when the water started to rise...

Talking about Kariba there are some wonderful books on the project and the aftermath of what occured ..

Operation Noah is one in particular that springs to mind

If Kariba dam wall broke, it would flood all the way to the coast and take out many many thousands of people in villiages downstream, it would be a MAJOR DISASTER really of unprecedented scale

The wall was (constructed very well) in the late fifties by a team of mainly Italian Engineers and Construction workers, some whom are (still concreted into the wall forever) when they inadvertantly fell into the mix with hundreds of tons of concrete at the time of building.

Also there was a major flood during the early stages of contruction which almost took out one of the coffer dams that were constructed prior to the main wall construction, I remember at the time it was touch and go if the whole thing would have flooded and been washed down the Zambezi

I was resident in Rhodesia in those days of the building

To those guest with some interest here is a short article to inform you about some of the happinings first hand ;;

Operation noah

Cheers, Peter