More than 40 people trapped as Eastern Cape floods swallow homes and cut off communities

The dam which supplies water to the Nelson Mandla Bay metro passed the 100% water level for the first time in seven years at the end of September. (Photo by Gallo Images/Die Burger/Lulama Zenzile) Rescue teams, including police divers and the NSRI, are battling to reach dozens of people stranded along the Gamtoos River after some residents ignored evacuation orders as catastrophic flooding ravages the Garden Route and Kouga region. About 40 people were stranded along the Kingsway area near the Gamtoos River mouth on Friday morning, 8 May, after refusing to evacuate ahead of devastating floods that have swept through the Garden Route and Kouga, destroying homes, submerging farmland and crippling infrastructure.

Speaking on Friday morning, Kouga Municipality Mayor Hattingh Bornman confirmed that a major rescue operation was underway at the Gamtoos River. “This is the Gamtoos River behind me, where the NSRI has got a lot of these small boats, unpropelled, unmotored boats, that’s going across to the Kingsway area, where there’s about 40 plus, estimated 40 people that are being taken out of the area,” he said. “We’ve got NSRI and Rescue SA, and the surf divers are here.

There are really incredible people who are assisting residents to evacuate.” Bornman issued an urgent plea to anyone still refusing to leave. “We’ve seen out here that if you do not evacuate when asked, we do sit with big problems, so please take care,” he said. On Thursday, the Kouga Municipality issued evacuation orders for residents in the Gamtoos Valley after Kouga Dam exceeded its storage capacity.

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Residents of Kingsway Village, Big Fish, Gamtoos Mouth Resort, Ferry Hotel and all low-lying areas in the Gamtoos Valley were urged to leave. More than 100mm of rain has reportedly fallen across the region. Despite the warnings, scores of residents chose to stay. Bornman said conditions overnight had been relentless for emergency personnel.

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