Heavy Rain Wrecks Havoc in S.Africa, Leaving 11 Kiled

Johannesburg (Antara/Xinhua-OANA) - Two week of heavy rain has caused floods in parts of South Africa, leaving at least 11 people dead, authorities said on Tuesday. Flooding is reported in Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, KwaZulu- Natal and Mpumalanga as part of the areas being affected in the country. In Mpumalanga alone, 11 people have died from drowning, among them three children, police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi said. "We have recorded 11 drownings and rescued 12 people from Tuesday, 4th of March to date, at various places in the province including Tonga, Nelspruit, Greylingstad, Piet Retief and Badplaas, " said Hlathi. Most of the people who became victims of the floods were trying to cross over the flooded rivers and unfortunately drowned. The SA Weather Service said downpours are expected to continue for another week. Meanwhile, the Department of Cooperative Governance said the National Defense Force is on standby to assist in flood-ridden areas. The department said the National Disaster Management Center has advised Provincial and Municipal Disaster Management Centers in provinces affected by recent floods to begin the necessary response preparedness. Cooperative Governance Deputy Minister Andries Nel appealed to people to exercise maximum caution. "We need people to be aware of their surroundings, especially motorists. Motorists should be more cautious on wet roads, they should try to avoid bridges and take alternative routes when instructed by traffic officials," said Nel. Heavy rains also caused a severe shortage of electricity. Last week, the country's electricity utility Eskom declared a power emergency during which rotational load shedding was implemented . South Africa suffers from insufficiency of power for long. This problem was worsened these days when state utility Eskom has depleted dry coal stockpiles at some power stations due to the rainy weather conditions. South Africa's power supply remains constrained, Eskom CEO Brian Dames said on Tuesday. "We are not out of the woods yet, the system remains tight and vulnerable to any changes as we go into winter," he told reporters in Johannesburg. The persistent rainfall had resulted in wet coal that made it impossible to power the stations, Dames said. "The supply issues will be a problem for the next few months unless we have aggressive supply interventions of at least 3,000 megawatts," he said.(*) (T.C003/C/Chaidar/Chaidar)