Heavy rain, gale-force winds and floodwaters battered parts of the Eastern Cape on Tuesday night and Wednesday, forcing dozens of schools to close, flooding homes and roads, triggering evacuations and disrupting flights.
Gqeberha has been one of the worst hit in the province. Weather forecasters have warned that more heavy rain is expected until Friday.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said the province remained under threat from severe flooding as a cut-off low pressure system continued to move across the country.
SAWS forecaster Nompumelelo Kleinbooi said conditions were expected to intensify over the southern and southeastern parts of the province late on Wednesday and into Thursday.
“We have a cut-off low — that is a weather system that develops in the upper-air — that was over the western part of the country on Tuesday and it then moved into the Eastern Cape,” she said.
“The combination of these weather systems then resulted in widespread showers and thundershowers across most parts of SA.”
The relentless rain caused widespread disruption across the province.
Kleinbooi warned that very heavy rainfall, flooding, rough seas, snowfall and gale-force winds were expected across parts of the Cape provinces.
She said rainfall figures along the south coast were expected to become “explosive”, with some areas potentially receiving more than 150mm within a 24-hour period.
Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, Port Alfred recorded the province’s highest rainfall, at 113mm.
Gqeberha recorded 85mm, while Joubertina received 80.8mm.
In Port Alfred, some roads were partially destroyed by flooding.
The Herald reported that emergency teams had been deployed to high-risk areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro and shelters opened for displaced residents.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers delivered crucial aid to families, including blankets, hygiene packs, food parcels and baby-care essentials.
At a community centre in Kwazakele, where families who had been forced to evacuate their homes in the township sought refuge, young children, their mothers and grandmothers were seen lying on mattresses waiting for food to arrive.
Among those affected was Ziyanda Kondlo, 39, who fled her four-room shack at 1am on Wednesday.
Kondlo said she had to escape with her three children, a toddler and two children aged 12 and 19, when the rain came gushing in.
“I realised we were knee-deep and I had to make a quick decision to evacuate. We went to a friend’s house and then later in the morning we came here,” Kondlo said.
Kondlo said all she had been able to grab from the house was instant porridge for her toddler.
Across the province, municipalities activated disaster response teams as concerns mounted over worsening weather conditions.
Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said the district remained on high alert as a level 6 disruptive rain warning remained in effect until Thursday.
“At this stage, initial reports of fallen trees obstructing roads and power interruptions have been received from the Amahlathi and Raymond Mhlaba areas,” Msiwa said.
She said disaster management teams were monitoring conditions closely and were prepared to escalate emergency responses if conditions deteriorated.
Late on Wednesday, the municipality convened a joint operations centre meeting involving local municipalities, government departments and other stakeholders to assess the impact of the storm.
We are currently monitoring adverse weather conditions across parts of the province, which have resulted in multiple flood-related road closures
— Unathi Binqose, provincial transport department spokesperson
The Eastern Cape education department confirmed that 32 schools in the Sarah Baartman district were closed on Wednesday because of the extreme weather and would remain closed on Thursday.
Buffalo City Metro closed four beaches — Gonubie, Bonza Bay, Nahoon and Eastern Beach — because of dangerous sea conditions and heavy swells.
Metro spokesperson Bongani Fuzile said the closures were implemented in the interest of public safety as waves of up to 8m battered the coastline.
Provincial transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said flooding and snowfall had affected several areas.
“We are currently monitoring adverse weather conditions across parts of the province, which have resulted in multiple flood-related road closures, particularly affecting low-lying bridges in farming areas such as Joubertina and surrounding towns.”
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Binqose said the N2 near John Tallant in Nelson Mandela Bay had become inaccessible because of flooding.
Snowfall was also reported in high-lying areas including the Lootsberg Pass near Middelburg, Wapadsberg near Nxuba and areas around Robert Sobukwe Town (formerly Graaff-Reinet) and Lady Grey.
Binqose urged motorists not to attempt to cross flooded roads or bridges.
“Fast-flowing water poses a serious risk and has the potential to sweep vehicles away,” he warned.
The Makana municipality also urged residents and motorists to avoid crossing flooded rivers and low-lying bridges, warning that electrical and road infrastructure had been damaged.
The storm system caused major disruptions at airports across the Eastern Cape.
Flights scheduled to land at KuGompo City’s King Phalo Airport on Tuesday were cancelled, delayed or diverted.
Some aircraft were diverted to Gqeberha’s Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, where passengers were left stranded overnight as airlines battled severe weather.
Local businesswoman Liwile Ngoqo said passengers aboard her FlySafair flight from Johannesburg to King Phalo Airport were left terrified after the aircraft repeatedly circled above the coastline before eventually diverting to Gqeberha.
Ngoqo said she later had to pay an additional R1,200 to hire a vehicle to travel back to KuGompo City.
FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon said flights remained vulnerable to bad weather because a critical ground-based navigation system at King Phalo Airport had recently been decommissioned and was expected to return to service only on May 25.
“This means flights remain vulnerable to weather-related cancellations that may otherwise have been avoidable,” Gordon said on Wednesday.
“Today flights are operating as scheduled so far.
“But until the equipment is reinstated, there remains a risk that yesterday’s disruptions could be repeated if conditions deteriorate.”
Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Ofentse Dijoe said King Phalo Airport was operating under normal conditions on Wednesday, though authorities remained concerned about the possibility of further weather disruptions later in the week.
Asanda Nini,Anathi Wulushe,Msindisi Fengu
www.dailydispatch.co.za
