Nelson Mandela Bay’s flood disaster escalated dramatically on its second day of relentless rainfall, with rising water levels displacing families and submerging homes — yet many refused to evacuate over fears of looting.
Despite the municipality opening community halls as places of safety, most remained largely empty as desperate homeowners chose to guard their properties rather than risk losing what little they had left.
In Missionvale, Colorado Street was left almost a metre underwater, with at least four homes completely flooded and several others severely damaged.
Residents waded through murky water, scrambling to salvage belongings and erect makeshift barriers against the encroaching floods.
Eric Bongani, a long-time resident, described a desperate fight to keep the water out of his home — a battle he was losing.
“We are living in a dam now,” he said, explaining how swelling water from a nearby dam had overflowed into the street and through his property.
His yard was fully submerged, forcing him to access his home by climbing over a neighbour’s wall.
Inside, furniture had been stacked high in a last-ditch effort to avoid further damage.
Next door, another house, including all three bedrooms, was submerged, with furniture and beds soaked.
Residents warned of a growing safety risk as contaminated water — filled with sewage and waste — mixed with live electricity.
Renta Botha, 19, also of Missionvale, said almost everything in her house had been ruined.
“This is so dangerous with the electricity.
“There is a small baby living in this house and we are worried about getting shocked.
“This water is also really dirty, even nappies are floating around.”
For many families in the township, the flooding has forced impossible choices.
Carol Jantjies, 44, has already sent her children, the youngest just four years old, to stay with an aunt.
She has, meanwhile, remained behind with her husband to protect their home from criminals.
“We can’t leave because of the crime. If we go, everything will be gone,” she said.
Her frustration was compounded by what she described as a lack of visible leadership, claiming local officials had failed to respond properly to the crisis.
She said their ward councillor was yet to visit them.
Attempts to reach ward councillor Teslin Booysen for comment failed.
Social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta visited the Lilian Ngoyi Community Sport Centre in Kwazakhele, where families affected by the recent floods were being accommodated.
The visit was aimed at checking on the wellbeing of these residents, engaging with families on their immediate needs and offering support while disaster management teams continued working to restore affected homes and communities.
Meanwhile, critical infrastructure was also severely damaged.
Several roads across the metro remained impassable.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality responded to flooding at the Niven (Cuyler) Bridge in Kariega.
Motorists and residents were urged to avoid crossing the bridge as water levels continued to rise and overflow across the roadway.
Emergency and disaster response teams are monitoring the situation.
A large tree also fell over in Cape Road, causing traffic to be diverted at around noon.
Along the coast, conditions turned increasingly dangerous.
On Thursday, the municipality temporarily closed beaches in Nelson Mandela Bay and barred burials from taking place at certain municipal cemeteries.
SA Weather Service Eastern Cape spokesperson Lungile Jele said nearly 200mm had fallen on the west side of the metro.
“In Nelson Mandela Bay, over the past week and up until 8am [Thursday] morning, 106.2mm of rain was recorded at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, 91.2mm at Coega, 152.4mm at St Albans, and 194mm at the Wild Flower Reserve.
“In the metro dams’ catchment over the same period, 299.5mm was recorded at Joubertina, 84.5mm at Kouga Dam and 77.8mm at Patensie.”
Jele said on Thursday evening that the day’s rainfall had pushed the figures up further.
Not all figures were immediately available.
Weather Guru Garth Sampson said the metro’s dams were overflowing — or full to the brim.
“In one week the Churchill Dam increased from 36% capacity to 116%,” Sampson said.
“The Impofu, the metro’s biggest dam, rose from 37% to 93% and the Kouga Dam rose from 33% to 119%.
“So we had a sh**load of rain.”
The crisis extended beyond the metro.
In the Kouga region, tensions arose among displaced families who said they had been left stranded with little support after being evacuated from the Tjoks informal settlement.
Authorities confirmed that with the Kouga Dam having exceeded capacity at 119%, urgent evacuations in low-lying areas of the Gamtoos Valley had been triggered.
Yet confusion and frustration plagued relief efforts.
Designated shelters, including the Felix and Loerie community halls, stood empty — the latter reportedly unusable due to poor conditions such as a leaking roof.
At the Thornhill Sports Hall, about 20 displaced residents had taken refuge, sleeping on mattresses laid across the floor as uncertainty grew.
“We don’t even know what we are waiting for,” displaced resident Linda Mooi said.
“We have nothing. Just the clothes we are wearing.”
The residents agreed that the flooding was not a “one-off” but part of a long-standing crisis.
“We’ve been dealing with this for more than 15 years,” Mooi said, highlighting the lack of basic infrastructure and emergency access in informal settlements.
For Amanda Mbenya, the devastation was deeply personal.
Standing inside her flooded home, where dirty water covers the floor, she described the emotional toll of losing everything.
“This is so painful.
“It has destroyed everything.
“We need help — food, clothes, blankets. We don’t know what comes next.”
As heavy rains persist and dam levels continue to rise, the full scale of the disaster is still unfolding — with vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of a crisis that shows little sign of easing.
Meanwhile, schools will remain closed on Friday.
Provincial education department head Sharon Maasdorp sent out a letter instructing principals to extend the closure of schools for another day.
In her letter, Maasdorp said the decision was made in light of the continued escalation of adverse weather conditions.
“The affected districts include Nelson Mandela Bay, Sarah Baartman and the Buffalo City metro, which has also been affected by persistent rains,” she wrote.
“[We] extend the suspension of classes from Thursday to Friday as they are flagged as high-risk areas.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said though most factories had managed to keep production lines running, the floods had left a trail of destruction across several industrial hubs.
Businesses in the Baakens Valley were among the hardest hit, with companies in Neave, Korsten and North End also suffering significant damage and disruptions.
Deal Party was severely affected by road closures.
Most businesses allowed staff to work remotely where possible, while many community health centres remained closed.
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