Heavy rains have pushed Kouga Dam to overflowing, forcing evacuations in the Gamtoos River valley and leaving a trail of devastation in agricultural areas.

Severe weather across the Eastern Cape and Southern Cape has driven the Kouga Dam into overflow, forcing evacuations along the Gamtoos River valley and placing widespread pressure on water infrastructure - 2.2-million litres of water poured over the Kouga Dam's spillway every second when it reached 119.2% capacity on Thursday morning.

These figures are even more staggering if you take into account that 24 hours earlier, the dam was at only 32% capacity.

Parts of the Kouga Dam's catchment area measured as much as 900mm of rain in 48 hours as heavy downpours and strong winds continued to batter parts of the country.

FLOOD MAYHEM More storms expected in waterlogged Nelson Mandela Bay May 6, 2026 While there is a sigh of relief as a looming drought in Nelson Mandela Bay has been temporarily averted, the past week's torrential rains have caused immeasurable damage in parts of the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Garden Route.

In the Kouga Municipality, flood warnings and evacuation notices were circulated early on Thursday morning, and property owners on the banks of the Gamtoos River, downstream of the Kouga Dam, were forced to move livestock to higher ground and leave the area...