Cape Town cuts back to survive its worst drought in 100 years

CAPE TOWN - As the South African capital suffers its worst drought in a century, residents have been told to restrict showers to two minutes and flush toilets only when "absolutely necessary".

The city - the country's biggest tourist hot spot - and the surrounding Western Cape province have been declared a disaster area by the local government, with just 10 percent of usable water left in the dams supplying the area.

Two hours from the city, Theewaterskloof Dam, the main source of water for Cape Town, has been reduced to a flat and sandy desert, with the petrified remains of orchards flooded when the dam was built in the 1970s standing starkly under the sun.