Villagers warned over floods risk

Chronicle Reporter
March 2, 2010


VILLAGERS living along the banks of Kariba Dam are likely to be hit by floods, as the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is likely to open the spill gates of the country’s biggest dam anytime this month.
In a statement yesterday, ZRA said it would open the spillway gates to save the dam from collapse.
The authority warned of an increase in river levels in the Zambezi Basin.
The authority said there was an increase in the river flow in the Zambezi River due to incessant rainfalls in the area.
“In light of this, the general public is notified that there is a high likelihood of opening the spillway gates at Kariba Dam during the month of March,” said the authority.
The authority explained that the continued heavy rains over the Zambezi Basin resulted in the dam receiving significant inflows and that the wet conditions were likely to continue.
“During the month of February, continuous widespread heavy rains have been received over the Zambezi River Basin leading to an increase in the river flow in the Zambezi River. The forecast by the Meteorological Department are that these wet conditions are likely to continue for sometime,” said the authority.
ZRA warned that the opening of the gates would increase river flow levels in Zambezi River, which could lead to flooding and warned the public to be on high alert.
“The general public are hereby advised to take all necessary precautionary measures, as a sudden rise in their river level downstream of the Kariba Dam will be expected,” warned ZRA.
Huge inflows of water into the Kariba Dam call for the opening of the floodgates to relieve pressure on the dam wall to avoid cracking and collapse.
If the dam cracks, the region's power supplies would be compromised since the water source is an electricity generating point that serves Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
In 2005, ZRA opened spillway gates at Kariba North Bank power station and this caused floods in Zambia and Mozambique.