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Water thunders out of Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa, as all the dam's sluice gates are opened to relieve pressure. The dam is currently 106% full after weeks of heavy rain.
Photograph by: Danie Smith

This was the sobering sight this week as all the sluice gates at Hartbeespoort Dam were opened to relieve some of the pressure on the dam which is 106% full.

In this usually parched land, you don’t see this kind of thing too often.

The last time I saw water flow out of the dam like this was in 2000 after many weeks of non-stop rain. Then, the water flowed down the Crocodile River, into the Limpopo which then hurtled in a great muddy deluge across southern Mozambique, taking out the town of Xai Xai and dozens of villages as it went.

Recent local rainfall figures are not nearly as high as they were in 2000 but if the heavy rains continue, the dams’ sluice gates will have to stay open.

That's good news for the rivers whose ecosystems are ruined by dams, but not such good news for farmers and people living along the river banks as serious floods are a very real risk.

Thanks to Radio 702’s Aki Anastasiou and photographer Danie Smith for the use of the photo.