title: The Laingsburg flood disaster.
abstract: In January 1981 natural floods occurred in large areas of the semi-arid Karoo area. In terms of loss of human life the town most affected was Laingsburg, where over 100 persons were drowned. Most of the bodies were swept downstream in the abnormally swollen river and were never recovered. A flood disaster of this dimension is rare in South Africa. There were very few injuries associated with the disaster and no epidemic diseases followed in its wake, but there were certain aspects of medical services related to the disaster worth recording.
mesh_terms: D004190:Disasters; D006767:Hospitals, District; D012380:Role; D013019:South Africa