The persistent rain that fell over the Eastern Cape over the last few days is unlikely to boost the dam levels in the province much.
Weather Service spokesperson Garth Sampson says despite some good rains on the coast and the adjacent interior, the Eastern Cape is still at the grip of the drought.
According to Sampson, 30 to 40 millimetres was recorded in the Langkloof area, which is the main catchment area of Nelson Mandela Bay dams.
“The snow that fell, we are hopeful some additional rain will give some additional run off to the dams, but we will not know the dam levels until early next week. We hope they rise because we are in a bad state with dam levels under 17 and the Kouga Dam the biggest storage under 7%,” adds Sampson.
Shack dwellers bearing the brunt of the icy cold weather
Tuesday was the coldest daytime temperature recorded in Port Elizabeth since 2002. The maximum temperature was just 10,5 degrees celsius.
Shack dwellers say the icy conditions were particularly hard to bear.
“We put 2-litre bottles of hot water in the blankets to avoid the coldness, we cant make a fire because it is dangerous for the houses around us. I don’t have enough blankets and that is the problem that I have now in the shack I’m staying in now,” said some residents.
