IN PICS | Thousands left homeless after deluge

Heavy downpours have left thousands of Eastern Cape residents homeless and a number of people have lost their lives.

On Monday in the Buffalo City Metro alone, the city said 1,300 people had been displaced and were being accommodated in community halls in Mdantsane, Braelyn and Mzamomhle, while others were being moved to chalets, old age homes and temporary housing.

The Amatola Water Board warned the Nahoon Dam could possibly overflow, as it was at 101.47% capacity this week, compared with 80.28% last week.

At least two fatalities have been reported, the latest being a 20-year-old man from Dawn who was swept away by the floods on Sunday.

A pedestrian was killed by a car in a flooded street in West Bank over the weekend.

Metro spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said the NSRI, SA Police, police dive unit and police K9 search and rescue units were hard at work.

“A 13-year-old reported as drowning in Amalinda Forest was rescued,” he said.

Gift of the Givers and metro officials handed out food parcels and blankets.

In Stoney Drift informal settlement, Nora Jafta and Elliot Klaas said they were grateful as they had not known where they were going to get their next meal.

“My partner and I live in a dilapidated shack. It is full of water,” Jafta said.

Emihle Tokwe, who lives with her 57-year-old father, 52-year-old mother and her eight-month-old daughter, said: “It is a constant struggle when we have heavy rains.

“But we have nowhere else to go.”

Nonkungu Mandlakhe, 53, who has lived in Stoney Drift for more than 30 years, said: “We are living in a refuse dump, but we have made it our home.”.

Ngwenya said the metro was engaging with the department of human settlements for temporary structures and had so far secured 800.

Gift of the Givers Eastern Cape convener Corene Conradie said they had been distributing relief aid to affected residents since early on Sunday.

“We are expecting the number of residents [needing help] to increase as the weather has not yet cleared.

“Many Mdantsane and Duncan Village residents are crowded in community halls, still wearing their pyjamas, as their clothes and other belongings were ruined.

“Our priority at this stage is getting bulk food for the families.”

SA Human Rights Commission provincial manager Dr Eileen Carter said they were monitoring conditions to assess what was needed.

“I think proper housing needs to be implemented ...

“As the commission we will now follow up with the municipality and human settlements to see where we can house communities with dignity.”

BCM mayor Princess Faku said the national government needed to intervene to fix the metro’s ageing infrastructure, such as the drainage system.

“We as BCM cannot fix this alone.”

Clogged stormwater drains blocked major roads across the metro.

Faku said BCM had already identified land for the 293 Stoney Drift residents in Amalinda Forest.

Residents in Nahoon, led by Tidy Towns, cleaned debris on Nahoon Beach on Monday morning.

SA Weather Service Eastern Cape meteorologist Nompumelelo Kleinbooi said cold, windy and wet weather was expected on Tuesday and might clear on Wednesday, “though there is uncertainty”.

In Nelson Mandela Bay, a landslide destroyed a wooden home  and damaged a section of a neighbouring property early on Sunday.

The landslide also crashed through the Blue Horizon Bay community hall, leaving the entire building filled with sand.

Metro officials warned residents of the Lapland informal settlement that a nearby dam could burst.

More than 200 residents below the dam were evacuated on Monday  but the remaining residents were refusing to move.

Eastern Cape government spokesperson Khuselwa Rantjie urged communities to exercise caution and to follow the regular updates and warnings from the SA Weather Service.

“People are also urged to refrain from crossing flooded roads and bridges when water levels rise.

“The provincial government is determined to provide support to families who have lost their homes and possessions and who are in desperate need of food, water and shelter.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa sent his condolences to the families of those who had lost loved ones in the floods affecting large parts of the province.

The DA in the province urged the provincial government to declare a state of disaster.

DA provincial leader Andrew Whitfield said he had contacted premier Oscar Mabuyane and would in due course request that the new provincial government declare a state of disaster as its first order of business.

— Additional reporting by The Herald