Laingsburg is a town in South Africa’s Western Cape province. In the semi-arid Great Karoo, it is a reasonably big farming town. A flash flood in 1981 largely damaged it.
What is the history of Laingsburg?
Following the arrival of the early Dutch, German, and Huguenot pioneer settlers in 1727-1728, the area was settled by 18 Trekboer farmer families led by the Meiring, Bezuidenhout, Botha, van Rooyen, van Heerden, Holtzhausen, Eksteen, Du Plouuy, Roussouw, Joubert, and Viljoen families, who established sheep and orange farms. The village created a Commando militia platoon in 1738, consisting of 20 Riflemen, 5 Mounted Riflemen, 2 field cannons, and 8 gunners. Until the 1760s, it was headed by Commandant Cornelius Steyn and Field Cornet Petrus Holtzhausen. The Commando organized long-distance punitive and reconnaissance operations deep into Beaufort West and Nelspoort in the 1760s to reclaim livestock and sheep.
Laingsburg is located in what state?
Laingsburg is located in the Western Cape province of South Africa, at Lat: -33.20, Long: 20.85. The town is located in South Africa’s Great Karoo, a semi-desert area.
What is Laingsburg well-known for?
Laingsburg is located 280 kilometers from Cape Town, directly along the N1 route across the Great Karoo. Despite its dryness, the town is well known for the catastrophic flood that ravaged it on January 25, 1981. Within hours, the whole town was submerged, with only the tops of houses visible.
What is the name of the river that goes through Laingsburg?
The Buffels River near Laingsburg is about 230 kilometers northeast of Cape Town. The river travels south to meet the Touws River, which subsequently becomes the Groot River, before emptying into the Gouritz River (Figure 1).
When was the Laingsburg flood?
Natural floods occurred in broad portions of the semi-arid Karoo region in January 1981. Laingsburg was the town worst hit in terms of human life loss, with over 100 people drowning. The majority of the victims were washed downstream in the unusually high river and were never found.
