Mother Nature was not kind to residents of Deneysville, Parys and Secunda as flood levels rose and rain continued as they tried to pick up the pieces after two weeks of damage.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive and coordinated response to the floods affecting Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West.
READ ALSO: ‘I have nothing’: Mpumalanga residents save what they can after floods
And there could be more rain on the way to the east of the country, with tropical cyclone Freddy expected to pass through Madagascar and hit Mozambique and Zimbabwe later this week.
Resorts and clubs are closed
As residents tried to save what they could, the rain continued yesterday again. The R549 road that runs along the Vaal Dam wall is also under threat as water begins to flood about 50 to 100m from the road.
Many resorts and clubs on the banks of the dam have been closed until further notice. St Peter’s United Church on the bank of the dam was just a few centimeters from being flooded with water pushing up to the church door.
On the bridge over the Vaal Dam wall, passers-by stopped to take photos of the 12 sluice gates opening after the dam reached over 100% capacity at the weekend.
Msiye Nkhoheba and Kasimu Yusuru, who live near the dam, said it rained too much.
“Now there is water in our garden,” said Nkhoheba. He said that till today the flood has reached his house. Yusuru said that he caught a 60cm goldfish in his flooded garden.
Jacob Makau, who fishes on the river bank below the bridge, said he fishes every day for food and sells the extra fish for money.
“I get 20 to 30 fish a day. Now there are many fish, big and small,” he said. Makau said that it is not dangerous to fish below the dam wall because he does not stand in the water.
A local farmer, speaking anonymously, said it had rained 20mm last week.
“The entire Vaal Dam area is experiencing rain. Everything in the area is flooded,” he said. The farmer said his house was spared from flooding, but his crops were negatively affected.
“Our roads and infrastructure have been destroyed,” he said.
READ ALSO: Flooding: Transnet workers rescued after truck plunges into river
He noted that this was the second worst flood in 40 years on his farm. The farmer said he stood on the bridge in 1974 after all 60 sluice gates were opened.
“All I remember was how the bridge was shaking because of all the water coming down the dam wall,” he said.
The farmer said that the current level of rain is not normal and if it rains more there will be problems.
Flooding affects business
Deneysville Water Sport Club Manager Isabelle van der Merwe said the Resort is on the water. Van der Merwe said the contents of the first row of caravans at the dam had to be removed as the water level continued to rise.
He said most of the campers only visited the resort for the weekend but had to return yesterday to store their belongings.
READ ALSO: Floods: North West declares disaster areas by municipality
One of the regulars, Gideon Harmse’s tent was knee-high flooded over the weekend.
“I had a braai yesterday. We sat in the water and it was a lot of fun,” he said.
Harmse has been visiting the resort for the past four years and said he is not worried about the damage.
“It is what it is, what has to happen will happen,” he said.
B&B owner Githea Landsberg said there was no flood damage. Landsberg said, however, the flood affected business because people could not fish in the dam.
Cyclone season
South African Weather Service forecaster Kevin Rae said tropical cyclone Freddy had emerged in the circulation of the southwestern Indian Ocean region over the past week.
“For the past few days, it has been drifting slowly to the west, following a track roughly parallel to the equator.
“Currently, Freddy is located about 400km northeast of Mauritius and is expected to approach the islands of Mauritius and La Reunion as it continues to drift westward,” he said.
Vox Weather forecaster Annette Botha said the current weather system is abnormal as it is cyclone season. Botha said Freddy was a dangerous system with high winds, heavy rain, storm surge, rough seas, landslides and flash floods all risks.
“Cyclones are not currently a threat to South Africa. But remember tropical systems are notoriously fickle and unpredictable.
“They often show incorrect movements and the accuracy of predictions provided by weather models usually improves significantly as the lead time shortens,” he said.
– marizkac@citizen.co.za