Officials are scrambling to stop Thabos Dam from completely eating it after weeks of nonstop rainfall pushed the wall to its breaking point near Bronkhorstspruit. Emergency crews are cutting drainage channels around the embankment to relieve pressure, and they have already moved people out of nearby farms while warning drivers on the R513 and R568 that flash flooding could wreck those routes. The whole mess is complicated by the fact that nobody even registered this dam with the Department of Water and Sanitation, so engineers are working blind on basic details about the structure.
Locals are stuck dealing with a crumbling dam wall that doubles as their only road access, and some are getting cut off from supplies while trying to keep farms running. The situation has people freaking out because two other dams in the area have already failed in the past, and climate experts keep saying heavier rains are becoming the new normal for the region.
Locals are stuck dealing with a crumbling dam wall that doubles as their only road access, and some are getting cut off from supplies while trying to keep farms running. The situation has people freaking out because two other dams in the area have already failed in the past, and climate experts keep saying heavier rains are becoming the new normal for the region.
