Orange River swamps fields and lodges

SOME low-lying irrigation fields along the Orange River at Noordoewer were inundated when the river broke its banks on Friday, spelling huge production losses for affected crop farmers.

Besides waterlogged fields, some camping sites and tourist lodges were also swamped by the flooding river. The river level had been rising rapidly since last week, when the sluices of the Vaal and Bloemhof dams in South Africa were opened due to heavy rainfall in their catchment areas.Yesterday, the river’s level was expected to reach nine metres.On Friday morning lodge and farm workers rushed to remove furniture and equipment from being swept away by the floodwater. The Amanzi Trails River Camp was hit the hardest, as most parts of it were under water. The camp’s owner, Johan la Grange, said it would take about three to four months for the water to subside and to clean up the mud before business could resume.’We are lucky as far as losses are expected because it’s off-season, although we’re going take a bit of knock,’ said La Grange. La Grange said the losses could have been massive if the flood had hit during the peak season between March and July. Also affected were the Felix United, Bundi River Rafters and Noroshama lodges.At these lodges, only cottages in low-lying areas were flooded. One of the affected crop farmers, JA Olivier, projected crop losses between 50 and 60 per cent. ‘There is little to do but to wait until the water subsides. We must just go down on our knees to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst,’ said Olivier. Olivier added that the worst case scenario would be if the river washes away fertile topsoil. ‘This is a major concern. During the 1988 flood this happened and some farmers were forced to quit crop farming,’ he said. The floodwaters also drowned small livestock along the river. Johanna Andjene said 20 of her goats had drowned and were swept away by the floodwater. She added that about 20 cattle that were grazing on an island fled into South African to escape the floodwater. Andjene appealed to Government to allocate other land to those farming in the low-lying areas along the river. Meanwhile, the Roads Authority last week announced the closure of district road 212 between Aussenkehr and Sendelingsdrift after sections were flooded. The rising river also forced the closure of the pontoon on district road 276 to South Africa. The Roads Authority has warned motorists to exercise caution on other roads that are vulnerable to flooding.