WITH only two days of water left for game at Mkhuze and trucks already bringing in this life-giving resource, the heavens opened over the iSimangaliso Wetland Park on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Not only did the rain bucket down, new July rainfall records have now been recorded.
The St Lucia estuary has already received 312.9mm this month, which according to the EKZN Wildlife records is the highest figure logged since record keeping began in 1971.
The closest figure was 261mm measured in 2011.
‘The uMfolozi River has been flowing from local rains around Mtubatuba into the estuary, and the lake level at the St Lucia bridge had risen by 37cm this (Wednesday) morning,’ said iSimangaliso’s Debbie Cooper.
‘There is loads of standing water in the Eastern and Western Shores sections of the Park, and at Catalina Bay the lake is looking fuller than it has all year.
‘Even the beaches are looking like wetlands thanks to heavy coastal rain and pounding seas.
‘At Sodwana Bay, hail fell at around 6am and an estimated 30-40mm of rain has fallen so far.
‘Best news of all, after a very light start, uMkhuze finally received a solid downpour this morning.’
Recorded figures by early Wednesday morning, taken from the start of rainfall on Saturday in the southern parts of the Park were:
St Lucia Estuary: 217mm
Manzengwenya (Coastal Forest): 80mm
Charters Creek: 110mm
Mission Rocks: 102mm
Kosi Bay: 29mm
False Bay: 52mm
uMkhuze: 25mm.
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