Heavy rains cause chaos in EC
Families displaced, roads flooded and deaths reported as storms lash region
At least 150 people were displaced and a woman died in Buffalo City Metro as heavy rains wreaked havoc in the Eastern Cape at the weekend.
With Duncan Village, Ducats, Mzamomhle and Reeston hit hardest by the floods, the city’s stormwater drainage systems faced severe pressure, resulting in the blockage of major roads such as Settlers Way, Steve Biko Bridge from Westbank to the East London CBD, Cambridge Cemetery, Duncan Village, Cc Lloyd Township, Parkridge and Scenery Park.
A woman was fatally injured when she was struck by a vehicle in Hood Street, Westbank, on Saturday, BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said.
The heavy downpours damaged infrastructure, including houses situated in low-lying areas.
The metro on Sunday morning closed all beaches due to rough sea conditions.
Flooding disrupted taxi operations at the Ebuhlanti taxi rank that has been temporarily placed between Gillwell Road, Park Gates Road and Terminus Street, and street vendors in the precinct abandoned their stands for cover in the malls’ parking area while others closed for business on Sunday morning.
In Mdantsane, several were flooded.
NU6 resident Nobesuthu Jali said water in her backyard rose as high as her knees.
“The road has no gutters. Whenever we get heavy rains, all the water comes straight into my yard and floods it.
“I have reported this issue multiple times but nothing has been done,” she said.
Braelyn resident Dorah Qadeer spent Sunday morning hopelessly mopping her flooded house while her shoes floated in the water and the rain continued pouring in.
At the Beacon Bay Country Club, some customers’ cars were partially submerged when the parking lot flooded. properties
A staff member said the club was closed until further notice.
“Our office, storeroom, tennis courts are all flooded,” the employee said.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, at least two people died and two more were reported missing while several roads, including Blue Horizon Bay Road, Algoa Road, Cuyler Street and Victoria Drive to Caledon, were flooded, with several roads closed and power outages throughout the city. Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said 65 people had been rescued.
BCM mayor Princess Faku visited the affected areas with mayoral committee members, ward councillors and disaster management teams on Sunday.
Ngwenya said: “The metro is also working with the department of social development together with the NGO Gift of the Givers to assist with clothes, groceries, blankets and food parcels. “The city has set up a disaster management operations centre chaired by the executive mayor which includes disaster management, law enforcement, traffic, fire, police lifesaving, EMS ambulance services and the NSRI.”
He said Faku held engagements with the human settlements department to assist with 500 temporary structures for those affected.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said: “Gift of the Givers teams in East London and Gqeberha will be supported by team members from Cape Town, George and Adelaide with emergency supplies already being loaded at these centres, while additional items will be procured locally.
“Support from the head office in Pietermaritzburg, if needed, will be dispatched. We are busy arranging warehousing in the various centres.”
Eastern Cape meteorologist Nompumelelo Kleinbooi said a combination of systems — a cut-off low, a surface trough and ridging high pressure — resulted in the windy, cold and wet weather over the Eastern Cape.
“What these systems do is cause a lot of moisture to be in circulation and they result in extensive cloud development that in turn dumps a lot of rainfall,” Kleinbooi said.
Kleinbooi said more rain was expected on Monday.
“A yellow level 2 warning for disruptive rain resulting in flooding of settlements, roads, low-lying areas and bridges is expected in places over Koukamma, Sundays River Valley, Makana, Raymond Mhlaba, Amahlathi, lntsika Yethu, Engcobo, Mhlontlo, Senqu, Ingguza Hill and Mbizana LMS.
“An orange level 6 warning for disruptive rain resulting in flooding of settlements, roads and bridges, some communities temporarily cut off as well as danger to life is expected in places over Kouga, Ndlambe, Ngqushwa, Great Kei, Mauma, Mbhashe, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Nyandeni, Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill and Mbizana LMS as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City metros,” she said.
Very cold conditions are expected in the province’s interior. Kleinbooi said cold, windy and wet weather was expected in the province until Tuesday.
“On Wednesday, we might start seeing a clearance in rain, but there is still uncertainty with regards to that.
“Snow is expected to start falling over the north-eastern high ground from late morning as the cut-off low starts moving over the province, spreading to the high-lying areas in the northwest in the afternoon,” she said.
The National Sea Rescue Institute was among organisations on the ground on rescue missions.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the team brought a local passenger barge to safety and the mast of a sailing yacht protruding out the water in Buffalo City.
“Both the sailing vessel and barge are from Southern Cross Cruises.
“Efforts to salvage the sunken yacht are being investigated.
“Both craft were unmanned. The jetty they were berthed at sank on Sunday morning,” Lambinon said.