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dam-l Kariba Dam and flooding/LS
Zambia opens dam gates, more worries for Mozambique
02/28/00
LUSAKA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Zambia has opened the spillway gates of its
bulging Kariba dam which could pose further flooding worries in
neighbouring Mozambique, officials said on Monday.
The surplus water -- the result of torrential rains over southern Africa in
the past month -- was coursing down the Zambezi River, putting the
Mozambique villages near the border areas of Luangwa and Katondwe in
danger. ``Because of heavy rains in southern Africa, the upper catchments
near the dam have been flooded and the dam itself is full well beyond its
acceptable capacity,'' a spokesman for the Zambezi River Authority told
Reuters. ``We will continue to have the spillway gates open until the
engineers are satisfied that the dam faces no danger at all.''
Some of the water would end up in the Cabora-Bassa Dam in Mozambique which
was already full.
The dam's gates were to be opened in March, but state power utility said
heavy rains in Zimbabwe and Botswana had forced water levels higher faster
than anticipated, and the opening of the spillway gates was brought
forward.
Kariba dam is a source of power for both Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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