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Residents evacuated as dams overflow, rivers burst banks in latest flooding in Kariega

Residents evacuated as dams overflow, rivers burst banks in latest flooding in Kariega
The Addo Road at Wells Estate was under water on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Supplied)
Estelle Ellis
By Estelle Ellis
22 Oct 2024
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Since late Monday night, ongoing rain has been wreaking havoc in Nelson Mandela Bay. More than 100mm fell in some places, flooding neighbourhoods, roads, and destroying bridges.

Roads flooded, bridges gave way, and residents were evacuated from their homes in parts of Kariega early on Tuesday, 22 October 2024,  as the Nelson Mandela Bay metro received heavy rain. 

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, stormwater canals broke their banks, and people in parts of Kariega had to be evacuated. The informal settlement of Lapland, where people had been awaiting removal to safer temporary housing since the previous flood, also flooded, and the police assisted in removing people to safer community halls.

This is the second major flood to hit the metro in four months, with Kariega also suffering extensive flooding in June. 

The spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Malibongwe Mtima, said the writing of the computer applications technology paper for matric candidates in the Kariega area had been suspended as the area had been hit by both flooding and power outages. Officials from the Department of Education were in Kariega on Tuesday morning to assist learners. 

Severely damaged roads


Collapsed stormwater drains in the Markman Industrial area caused large-scale flooding. The chairperson of the Markman Business Forum, Graham Taylor, said the municipality had not addressed problems with severely damaged roads, broken stormwater drains, and sewerage systems in that area for a long time.

Nelson Mandela Bay communications director Sithembiso Soyaya said there had been localised flooding in several areas, including the popular tourism areas of Summerstrand and Humewood.

A video showing the flooding caused by the Baakens River bursting its banks can be seen here.

He added that a viral WhatsApp message purporting to be from the South African Weather Service warning about another severe storm expected around 3pm in the metro was fake.

At mid morning, as the metro was hit by a number of electricity outages, the municipality issued a notice to warn residents not to step into pools of water or swim in flooded areas. 

The Aloes community on the banks of the Swartkops River on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Supplied)



“Bodies of water may be in contact with live electricity substations, mini substations, cables or central distribution units,” the notice read. “This causes a great risk of electrocution.”

Residents were also asked to switch off the main switches in their houses before evacuating.

The Willow Dam in Kariega is also currently overflowing, and as a result, several residents had to be evacuated. Bridges over the Kruisriver and the Nivens River, damaged by the floods in June, were also breaking up on Tuesday morning. Residents from several low-lying informal settlements were also evacuated.

Here is a video showing the collapse of the bridge over the Nivens River. 

Soyaya said community halls were opened to accommodate hundreds of evacuated residents. While mop-up operations continued, residents would be provided with mattresses, blankets, and soup. 

Gift of the Givers, Shoprite, NHC Nama Royal House, Al-Imdaad Foundation and Sasco PepsiCo have donated warm meals that will go to residents who have been moved to the evacuation halls. 

Main roads flooded


Several main roads in the metro were also flooded, including Allister Miller Drive, which runs to the airport, Marine Drive and Brookes Hill Road, parts of the N2 and the Swartkops area as the Swartskops River started flooding on Tuesday morning. 

A video of flooding on the N2 can be viewed here.

Denise van Huyssteen, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, said businesses were badly affected by the heavy rains. The Volkswagen factory’s car park flooded. A number of businesses in the Struandale area, including Isuzu, BASF and the Ford engine plant, shut down due to a power failure caused by the bad weather.

She added that high levels of absenteeism prevented factories from running their first shifts.

Two state hospitals, Dora Nginza Hospital and the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, were also affected by floods and rain. Van Huyssteen said they assisted at Dora Nginza Hospital in starting a generator. Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson MK Ndamase said the MEC for Health, Ntandokazi Capa, was on her way to inspect these two hospitals. 

The Nivens River bridge was collapsing on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Supplied)



Addo Road at Wells Estate was underwater on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Supplied)



Van Huyssteen said the courier company Intertown Transport was bringing aid to the city.

Dr Imtiaz Sooliman from Gift of the Givers said: “We have been in contact with disaster management and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal Manager, Mandla George, since Sunday and have been tracking the weather all day yesterday. At 3.32 am today, disaster management called for assistance. Several calls have also come from community members.

“Gift of the Givers team has been activated, and support teams are arriving with food, blankets, and new clothing from East London and Knysna. Given the unavailability of clean drinking water, two of our water tankers are on the way from Adelaide. We may procure two more tankers from Isuzu, our partner. Cerebos will provide bottled water and noodles,” he said.

Collection point for donations


The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s offices have been designated as the collection point for donations. 

“Titan Cargo, also a partner, will provide warehousing and trucks within the city. Contracts for hot meals have been given. Disaster Management has requested transport to evacuate individuals to safer areas. Gift of the Givers is looking into providing buses and taxis for the purpose. Our teams are on standby in Pietermaritzburg, Johannesburg and Cape Town if required. Supplies from these centres may also be dispatched if necessary,” Sablay said.

Eileen Leander from the Aloes community said they had been trapped for a few hours already. Water coming down the mountain had flooded the settlement from one side, and water from the flooding Markman Canal was cutting them off from the other side.

 “We have phoned for help, but we haven’t heard anything yet,” she said. DM

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