More storms expected in waterlogged Nelson Mandela Bay

Nelson Mandela Bay was still reeling from inclement weather when the city had to batten down the hatches in anticipation of more damaging weather warnings.

More than 100mm of rain was measured in places across the metro by Wednesday morning, causing localised flooding, sinkholes and collapsing structures across the city.

More devastation is expected with another estimated 100mm predicted in places until Thursday night, accompanied by gusting winds in excess of 100 km/h.

Despite the municipality’s efforts to allay public concerns about its readiness to deal with weather-related emergencies, many questions remain around the availability of vehicles amid the city’s fuel contract challenges.

Weather forecaster Garth Sampson said Newton Park, Gqeberha, experienced the most rainfall in the city on Tuesday night, more than 130mm, but warned that residents had not seen the last of the rain.

“The total rainfall round-up as from 6 May is that most places in Gqeberha and Kariega had rainfall above 100mm, with a high of more than 130mm in Newton Park. Overnight to tomorrow (Thursday) midnight, between 60mm and 120mm of rainfall is expected, accompanied by strong winds throughout the night, with the worst expected after 8pm.”

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a level six warning for disruptive rain and damaging winds in and around Nelson Mandela Bay.

The warning level was slightly adjusted from the previous day’s level eight warning, which saw homes and infrastructure, particularly roads, bear the brunt of nature’s wrath.

Flooding was reported in several wards, including KwaZakhele, Motherwell, Kariega, KwaDwesi, Bethelsdorp, Missionvale and KwaNobuhle and the municipality. Gift of the Givers and other aid organisations are on the ground managing the impact.

Businesses across the city were severely affected, with roads becoming impassable and companies warning employees to stay at home to avoid risking their safety.

Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said many businesses had reported that operations were hit by damaged facilities and surroundings, as well as reduced employee numbers, brought on by heavy rain and localised flooding.

“Major manufacturers were able to continue with production operations today, but in the majority of cases, higher-than-normal absenteeism levels were experienced. Some manufacturers have opted to close their factory doors from this afternoon (Wednesday), and businesses whose operations allow for remote working have opted to do this until the adverse weather risks have subsided.”

Roads in some of Gqeberha’s commercial and industrial hubs, like Newton Park, Korsten and Markman, were left waterlogged with stormwater drainage systems seemingly unable to cope with the sudden deluge.

In several locations along Govan Mbeki Avenue, torrents dislodged paving and sections of the road surface, causing earth and other materials to be washed up, resulting in numerous potholes. In some places, large sections of the road collapsed, forming larger sinkholes.

“The critical issue here is that stormwater drains are not being maintained properly. On top of that, no refuse collection took place on Monday and Tuesday, and all that rubbish further blocked the stormwater system,” Ward 5 councillor Terri Stander said.

Stander took it upon herself to clear some of the debris along Govan Mbeki Avenue to assist traffic, but said every new downpour brought more water and rubble into the road.

Similar incidents of damaged roads were reported along Russell Road and the William Moffett Expressway.

Meanwhile, in some of the leafy parts of Walmer, several properties suffered structural collapses, particularly where boundary walls and retaining walls were unable to survive the downpours and strong winds.

At the Deyton Court apartment building, a large section of the retaining wall and security fence collapsed, trapping cars in their parking spots and causing dangerous conditions for residents.

“This place is prone to flooding. This is not the first time this building has been in the news,” a resident said.

In 1968, during one of the most devastating floods in Nelson Mandela Bay in recent history, most residents of the same apartment block were trapped, while others braved the storm to make their way out of the building’s sunken parking area.

On the other side of Gqeberha, in one of the city’s poorest informal settlements, Grogro residents are fearing for their safety for a very different reason.

They are not afraid of the water, but of the electrical wires hanging over the waterlogged roads.

Grogro has been in the news repeatedly in recent months due to ongoing battles between residents and the municipality over promises to install temporary electrical infrastructure to a community reliant on illegal connections from nearby transformers and private homes.

Exposed wires hang precariously from rickety planks and poles, and in 2023, two men from the informal settlement were electrocuted when they stepped in puddles next to the road.

“We have been fighting for better electricity for years now. This goes beyond just having power. This is a major safety concern,” community leader Ludwe Mgoduka said.

“Especially now that the schools are closed due to the rain. Now our kids are playing here, and you know how kids love to play in water. What happens if one of them is electrocuted? Who will be responsible?”

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the Joint Operations Centre was activated to ensure a coordinated, rapid response to communities affected by the severe weather.

“The municipality confirms that intensified and ongoing stormwater maintenance programmes, significantly strengthened following lessons from previous flood events, have played a critical role in mitigating the impact of the current rainfall across the metro,” Soyaya said.

Despite several reports of stormwater systems taking strain and being unable to cope with the deluge, Soyaya claimed this was part of the municipality’s ongoing maintenance to ensure public safety.

“Proactive interventions such as continuous clearing of stormwater drains, desilting of canals and routine inspection of high-risk drainage infrastructure have improved system capacity and reduced the severity of flooding in several affected areas. These preventative measures form part of a sustained, citywide approach to building resilience and ensuring improved disaster preparedness.”

Several power outages have also been reported across the metro since the inclement weather began. While many have been resolved and power restored, new outages are continuously being reported. It is assumed that the disruptions are in part due to the weather, but there has been no clear confirmation from the municipality to explain the exact cause.

After initial reports of fuel shortages in the city, with fears it would affect emergency services’ response to the floods, Soyaya said the matter had since been resolved.

Gift of the Givers steps in

Gift of the Givers donated R50,000 towards fuel to assist the metro’s disaster management team.

Soyaya acknowledged the fuel supply constraints, but said emergency services had not been affected.

“Decisive mitigation measures were implemented with urgency, and the situation has now been fully stabilised. Fuel availability has been restored, and all critical and service delivery operations are fully operational. The municipality takes full accountability for this disruption and confirms that systems have been reinforced to prevent recurrence during ongoing operations.”

Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said they had engaged with the relevant disaster management teams, particularly the Eastern Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay metro disaster management teams.

“The teams have been very proactive, with all credit due to the metro’s team and all the relevant departments who followed the weather patterns,” Sablay stated.

Gift of the Givers teams have deployed extra resources in terms of humanitarian aid and other items from their warehouses in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

“Our teams are currently on the ground. There are a few centres where small pockets of people have been evacuated. Our disaster response was two-fold because of the warning level 8 and the high risk of flooding,” he indicated.

Teams on standby

“The first is the availability of search and rescue teams to assist if the call comes through, and then our humanitarian aid approach in terms of blankets, hot meals, personal hygiene item packs, mattresses, babycare packs and others. Teams are on standby for distribution to affected communities.”

Sablay confirmed the donation of funds to the municipality to purchase fuel to ensure the city responds to flood victims timeously.

“Indeed, we have contributed R50,000 worth of fuel to the municipality’s disaster management centre, as we do know that the team plays a crucial role in responding to floods. Gift of the Givers teams have worked closely with Nelson Mandela Bay metro on various disasters, so this donation was crucial to assist in having the teams on the ground for the safety and wellbeing of the residents.”

Several schools across the city announced their closures in line with the weather warning after receiving a memorandum from the provincial education department to ensure pupils were kept safe.

Education head of department Sharon Maasdorp also urged learners, educators and parents to take precautionary measures to ensure safety during this period.

“Consequent to the caution issued by the South African Weather Services, there is no schooling in the Nelson Mandela, Kou-Kamma and Kouga including the Sundays River Valley Municipalities”, she said. DM