In George, Civil Engineering Chief Harold Basson expressed his delight that the city is welcoming the summer season with an overflowing Garden Route Dam after more than 100mm of rain fell from Thursday to Sunday.
This latest downpour brought the total rainfall for October, as measured at the water works, to 176.1mm. It is more than double the 81.6mm average for the month. At the airport, the Weather Office recorded 101 mm for the month to date.
Serious flood warnings for the region had been publicised last week and the Eden Disaster Management Centre had been put on high alert, but showers were spread out over four days so that no flooding occurred.
According to Gerhard Otto, head of Eden Disaster Management, precautionary mea-sures implemented before the start of the weekend also helped to avert flooding. The mechanical opening of the Touw River mouth protected low-lying properties along the river and the Wilderness Lake from high water levels.
"The Swartvlei mouth had already been open and we did not need mechanical opening. Properties along Great Brak River had also been spared from water damage thanks to the reinforcement of the western bank of the river mouth which prevented it from eroding further up next to low-lying waterfront homes," said Otto.
A team was also on standby in Uniondale, which now falls within the George municipal boundaries, but no emergency action was required there either. The town received 44mm of rain on Sunday.
Otto said there had been damage to some homes in Syferfontein near Pacaltsdorp, but this was due to rising ground water.
Kobus Kruger, head of Parks and Gardens, confirmed that the local cemeteries were not too wet for burials as was the case in Port Elizabeth where a hold was put on funerals.
Farmers can expect good summer
No flood damage was reported by farmers in the Outeniqua region, said Stephan Gericke, chairman of the Outeniqua Farmers' Union.
Although early summer planting of certain crops and pastures will have to be postponed by a week or two, there is no crisis and farmers are thankful for the rain.
"I can say for certain that we are comfortable going into the summer. Our dams are full and rivers are running strong. When temperatures rise now, we can expect satisfactory pastures and everything to grow well."
* Meer as 100 mm reën is by die George-waterwerke gemeet van Donderdag tot Sondag en die Tuinroetedam loop oor, maar geen oorstromings is in die Eden-distrik aangemeld nie.
When the Garden Route Dam overflows, it usually draws more visitors than usual.The waterfall below from the dam wall was a source of wonder for this father and his children.
ARTICLE: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
