The floodgates will have already been opened, during the first hours of the day, and the water discharge process will now take place. The resulting flood could affect agricultural fields located on the banks of the Baixo Kwanza.
"In order to prevent the negative effects resulting from the rise in the river's water level, the Technical Commission established contacts with the Civil Protection and Fire Services (through the Provincial Governments of Luanda, Kwanza Norte and Malanje, including the Local Authorities), in order to to take necessary preventive measures", says a statement from RNT to which VerAngola had access.
The institution appealed to the need for the population to remain alert and collaborate with the institutions, so that the procedure proceeds as planned and without major incidents.
This is a situation that has occurred every year in the months of March to April, causing floods and floods in the Baixo Kwanza area, and often devastating agricultural fields. According to Angop, the epicenter is located in the commune of Massangano, in Kwanza Norte.
According to the head of the RNT system operations department, Paulo Bernardo, the water discharge process began last December, with the opening of the floodgates at the Capanda hydroelectric plant, in the province of Malanje, due to the increase in flows, common at this time of year.
Paulo Bernardo, who was speaking to Public Television of Angola, highlighted the need to carry out this process to safeguard these infrastructures, stressing that water levels are rising, “but in a controlled way”.
“For the Laúca dam, we are currently around two meters from the maximum safety level”, he assured, adding that, after the Laúca operation is completed, the Cambambe operation will begin.
The official highlighted that this procedure has been carried out in recent years, with the exception of 2021, due to low rainfall, appealing to the attention of the population, especially those who use river transport.
In turn, the spokesperson for the National Civil Protection and Fire Service, Wilson Baptista, said that several awareness and early warning actions are being carried out for the population, without detailing the number of people affected.
“Last year there was the same situation, the communities are already familiar with this action, some residents of this region who suffer the greatest impact, already have the culture at this time of sheltering at higher points in these locations and are harvesting in advance. of some culture that you can take advantage of,” he said.
Wilson Baptista highlighted that, although the opening of the floodgates takes place gradually, the volume of increase in river water in areas where the riverbed is narrower still has a significant impact.
