News24
21 Jan 2020, 00:43 GMT+10
Heavy rains have battered Zimbabwe's Hwange district, leaving over 50 families in temporary shelters as their homes were under water, as well as flooding coal mines and the country's biggest thermal power station - sparking fears of further power cuts in the coming week.
Zimbabwe - which is importing power from South Africa to assist with its power supply gap - is already experiencing 18-hour electricity blackouts following drastically reduced power generation at Kariba dam as a result of receding water levels for power generation.
The Kariba Lake is designed to operate between levels 475.50m and 488.50m (with 0.70m freeboard) for hydropower generation. On Friday the Zambezi River Authority, which manages water use for power generation, said the lake level continued receding, dropping by 6cm during the first 12 days of January 2020, before rising to close at 476.62m (7.77% usable storage) on 14 January 2020. Last year on the same date, the lake level was 482.12m.
This means the bulk of Zimbabwe's power now comes from imports and Hwange Thermal power station, which has now been hit by floods.
Heavy rains of up to 139mm pounded Hwange Town over the weekend in just three hours, resulting in flash floods which damaged homes and property, including a stockpile of coal at Hwange Power Station.
The rains also left the power station flooded.
Energy Minister Fortune Chasi took to Twitter to provide an update on the situation at Hwange.
"The weather has conspired against us. Hwange power station coal plant flooded. Power station now down to zero megawatts. 400MW lost. Zesa working to recover," he wrote.
Power cuts have been blamed for lost production hours for most businesses in the southern African country.
Get a daily dose of Cape Town Express news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cape Town Express.
More InformationCONCORD, New Hampshire: A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a crucial ruling on July 10 against President Donald Trump's executive...
DUBAI, U.A.E.: A cargo ship flagged under Liberia, known as the Eternity C, sank in the Red Sea following an attack executed by Yemen's...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has started sending some weapons to Ukraine again, just a week after the Pentagon told officials...
ECAULT BEACH, France: On clear days, the white cliffs of the United Kingdom, are visible from northern France, where men, women, and...
ATLANTA, Georgia: The United States is facing its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with 1,288 confirmed cases so...
In the past month alone, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza—three more than the number of remaining living hostages held...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
London [UK], July 13 (ANI): As India gears up for a potential big chase at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, the historical odds offer...
New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Devon Conway, Mitch Hay, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Robinson set to join the New Zealand T20I squad for...
Hohenstein-Ernstthal [Germany], July 13 (ANI): The wet weather has come to play on Saturday at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany,...
Melbourne [Australia], July 12 (ANI): Australia made changes in their squad for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies as they...
BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- In today's fractured world, dialogue based on mutual respect is the right path forward, said Gert Grobler,...