The gate was opened on Monday afternoon to protect the dam's 124-metre wall which would have been damaged if pressure had not been eased, Zambezi River Authority director Clement Mukosa told Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) news.

Mukosa warned that water levels in the dam were expected to have risen further as a result of rainfall in neighbouring Angola had protective action not been taken.

Television footage showed several hundred tourists and residents thronged by the side of the dam to witness the first opening of one of the spillway gates since 2002.

Zambia and Zimbabwe have both experienced heavy rainfall in recent weeks which has left several thousands of people homeless while the rivers and dams have been filled to above normal.

Thousands of families living close to the dam were told to relocate to higher ground before the operation. Police reinforcements were sent in to order some residents to move after they failed to respond to the initial warnings.

There are fears that the waters from Kariba could exacerbate the flooding in Mozambique although authorities there hope that the giant Cahora Bassa dam will absorb most of the excess.

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