‘Water like thunder’ – Riverlands reels after four dam bursts in two weeks

‘The water was like thunder. My sister and her five-year-old son were taken by the water down the road with the stream until the train rail and they grabbed the train line… It’s a very long distance.

“They were taken to the hospital. The five-year-old had a bit of water in his lungs. He was monitored and my sister was badly scratched, bruised and was booked off work,” says Runita Swarts (44) of the floods on 8 August 2024 in Riverlands.

The wall of one of the dams on a property known as Dassenberg had breached, affecting two neighbouring dams and resulting in severe flooding in parts of Riverlands, Chatsworth and Dassenberg, outside Malmesbury.

On Saturday, 17 August 2024, Riverlands residents were again affected after work by the Department of Water and Sanitation at a fourth dam, which resulted in a flash flood.

Read more: ‘Screaming’ Riverlands residents flee as fourth dam bursts near Western Cape town

The impact of the floods has left some residents without proper shelter after their houses were destroyed. A few residents’ furniture, such as washing machines, stoves, fridges, beds and couches were washed away and destroyed. 

On Tuesday, 20 August, Daily Maverick spoke to residents living in Riverlands who said that during the first floods, their houses were half full of water, destroying electrical appliances.

“The water went behind the fridge and washing machine and for the whole floor, we had to get pallets. Since last week, we tried to get a dryer but it tripped the power and now it got wet again so we have to take it outside because it is sunny today,” said Tanya Brown, who has lived in the community for nearly 10 years.

The community is now picking up the pieces. Some house’s walls were dismantled while the roads and rugby fields were covered in water and sand.

Ralph Burger (46), a community leader from Riverlands, told Daily Maverick there was little communication from the government about the dams, which were used for irrigation for nearby farms before they caused the floods. Residents now just want to get their lives back together.

“On Saturday, the message came too late to the community members to say that they [Department of Water and Sanitation] are going to release water [in the fourth dam] and they lost control of the release as a piece of the dam wall broke, and the whole dam water came down.

“Some of [the residents] who are housed at the [care centre] want to go back to where they live and rebuild their lives and nobody is telling them when they can move back or when the help will come to rebuild,” said Burger.

He said there had to be accountability because the community had informed the government through the ward committee about cracks and the danger of the dam — but communication broke down and nothing happened.

“We feel that we did inform the local municipality and somebody must be held accountable, and if [the municipality] did not inform the landowner, then they must be held accountable too.

“[The municipality] are saying the landowner is the City of Cape Town, Department of Land Reform and Rural [Development], the Department of Water and Sanitation, and National Department of Public Works,” said Burger.

The community is currently without potable water. Electricity has been restored for some residents living in the bottom riverside but residents from the top side, near the dams where the floods started, are without electricity.

The primary school has reopened, but the Survivors Crèche has not reopened yet its infrastructure suffered significant damage. 

Compensation

Burger said community members had to be compensated for their loss of property and income.

“Some of the businesses cannot do their business because of the roads and that is a loss of income. They cannot supply the customers with fresh meat and nobody is talking about the compensation of the people who lost income,” said Burger.

Brown agreed: “Some of our staff will never work again… Now we have to do our washing with my hands because two fridges and [a] washing machine are destroyed.”

‘Roads became rivers’

Gift of the Givers is providing blankets, food and water to the community. Its Western Cape coordinator Ali Sabley said the disaster had left the community in shock.

“On Saturday, we heard a commotion… People started shouting, ‘The water is coming!’ Our teams saw the roads becoming rivers. People started screaming and people had to be evacuated, and going back to relive the trauma that they lived from the 8th of August…” Gift of the Givers Western Cape coordinator Ali Sabley said of the weekend’s flood.

“We had deployed our two tanks from the Eastern Cape to assist the community. We had a concern about the small-scale farmers whose animal fields were washed away.

“Last Saturday we deployed 400 barrels of animal feed to the farmers. We will be here providing basic needs,” said Sabley.

Some residents have been staying at the Pop Centre, a shelter for people who lost their homes.

Daily Maverick spoke to Elizabeth van Wyngaardt, who now stays at the centre. She said she was happy just to be alive.

“People came and helped us out of the stream as we almost drowned. All my children’s stuff is gone and damaged. [But] I am happy and the shelter is looking after us nicely. There is no problem,” she said.

According to Swartland Municipality spokesperson Mart-Marie Haasbroek, 107 people had been placed at the Pop Centre and another shelter.

While mop-up operations are still being conducted, the municipality is providing water to the residents. An investigation is still under way to determine who owns the dams. DM