Damaging winds add insult to injury

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While the ground was still waterlogged from days of heavy rain, strong winds tore through parts of Nelson Mandela Bay and the Garden Route on Monday, uprooting trees, blocking key roads and ripping roofs from buildings.

The latest bout of severe weather left a trail of destruction across the region.

In Nelson Mandela Bay, gusts reached up to 75km/h on Monday afternoon.

Just as residents began picking up the pieces after devastating floods that damaged homes, businesses and personal belongings, fresh adverse weather swept across the province, triggering widespread power outages and compounding the misery of already battered communities.

The George municipality was forced to suspend key services for most of the day.

It said the municipal court was closed due to the weather, a staff shortage and property damage.

Refuse removal was temporarily suspended when several trees fell over and blocked roadways in Heather Park, Heatherlands and Blanco.

The George library and George and Wilderness tourism offices were temporarily closed due to the bad weather and associated power outages.

The SA Weather Service (SAWS) had issued Orange Level 5 and Yellow Level 2 warnings for the region.

In the Central Karoo and Garden Route districts, there were gale-force winds with gusts of up to 100km/h.

It was predicted they would drop to about 85km/h on Tuesday.

The roofs of several buildings including a church, a motor vehicle business and a construction site blew off.

Some schools in the region sent pupils home early, while the Garden Route Mall was evacuated at about noon.

Another weather warning was, meanwhile, issued for Nelson Mandela Bay this week, following the recent flooding that displaced thousands of residents.

The weather service issued a Level 2 warning for disruptive rains across the Bay, Kouga and Koukamma districts for Tuesday.

SAWS said though the impact of this week’s rains would be less severe than last week’s, it could still affect settlements, roads, low-lying areas and bridges.

“A cold front is moving over the coastline and can bring precipitation between 20-40mm in places.

“This rainfall, on top of high groundwater levels and rivers which are already full, can have some impact.”

Residents were advised not to cross flooded rivers and motorists were asked to drive cautiously and keep an ear out for regular updates.

“Localised disruptions to traffic and dangerous driving conditions due to slippery roads are possible.

“Pooling of water may obscure potholes and cause accidents,” the weather service warned.

Weather Guru Garth Sampson said strong winds would persist for at least the next two days.

“We can expect the wind to continue until Wednesday evening into the early hours of Thursday.

“It will blast through [Monday] and then die down [on Tuesday] morning before slightly picking up again in the day.

“Only on Wednesday evening will it begin to dissipate.

“With the ground saturated following the recent rains, we can expect trees to be dropping everywhere as their anchoring from the soil is already gone.”

Sampson said this referred to pine trees in particular.

“It is much worse on the Garden Route today [Monday] but with the recent rains we had in our region, we can expect some damage from wind or rain, or both,” he said.

Mandela Bay Development Agency acting chief executive Unathi Peter said the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium had sustained damage due to the high winds and damaging rains.

“Engineers have confirmed that the affected area appears to be structurally sound, with the damage limited to one canvas leaf and cable section on the north side of the stadium,” Peter said.

“Stadium leadership met early [on Monday] morning to discuss our priority actions.

“Our immediate steps are to secure the area and make it as safe as possible, as soon as possible.”

The torn canvas would be cut away and neatened and the damaged cable fully secured.

“The area will be cordoned off as [we] continue to investigate the speediest resolution to repair the damage.”

Peter said the high-performance tensile membrane fabric that made up the canvas sections of the stadium was produced in Japan.

“Contingency plans are in place to secure the area and minimise disruptions to stadium bowl events.”

Meanwhile, Kariega was particularly hard-hit.

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality said high winds had caused damage to overhead electricity lines supplying various water pump stations in the Kariega and Despatch areas.

The Fairbridge, Rosedale and Kamesh reservoirs, as well as the Despatch tower, were without water supply.

At the Market-Chase substation, a circuit breaker tripped, resulting in a power outage affecting central Kariega and surrounds.

A massive tree fell over in Lower Market Street in Kariega.

The Motherwell Main/MWN substation circuit breaker also tripped earlier in the day, causing a power outage in NU11, NU12 and NU13.

A domestic worker and single mother from Motherwell had to rush home from work on Monday afternoon after heavy winds caused several window panes in her home to shatter.

“We are just trying to fix everything from the floods and now this,” she said through tears.

A homeowner in Linaria Avenue, Kariega, said a tree in her yard, which had been there for decades, had been uprooted.

She said she had contacted a tree felling company, but the owner said they were too busy with the number of trees that had fallen over.

On the R75, a truck travelling between Kariega and Nqweba (formerly Kirkwood) overturned.

Another truck lost its cargo container on the Bluewater Bay bridge on the N2.

In Draaifontein Road, near the mini market, resident Carina Coetzee said a tree which fell into the road narrowly missed her son who had been travelling a few metres behind.

The weather situation was further compounded by the widespread power outages across the city.

Areas affected included parts of Blue Horizon Bay, Van Stadens, Motherwell, Kwazakhele, Zwide, New Brighton, Struandale, Bluewater Bay, Greenbushes, Walmer and many other areass.

Mayor Babalwa Lobishe met acting city manager Charity Sihunu, chief operating officer Lonwabo Ngoqo, councillors from the Govan Mbeki cluster and electricity and energy officials to address the power outages with urgency.

“Our focus is on finding immediate and sustainable solutions to restore stability and ensure residents receive reliable electricity services,” she said.

The municipality further cautioned residents, businesses and motorists of the strong winds that continued to pose a high risk.

“Disaster management teams, workers from the parks sub-directorate, and emergency services are all on the ground assisting affected residents and rescuing animals,” it said.

“Fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far.

“These strong winds have already caused disruptions to electricity infrastructure and damage to properties in parts of Nelson Mandela Bay.

“Residents are urged to secure loose objects and take all necessary precautions to protect their homes and properties.

“Motorists are strongly advised to exercise extreme caution due to sudden strong crosswinds, reduced visibility, fallen trees and possible debris.”

Operators of small boats were advised to seek shelter and avoid venturing out to sea.

“Following adverse rainy and windy conditions across the Bay last week, municipal teams have been working tirelessly to assist affected communities and reduce further damage caused by flooding.

“As part of ongoing mop-up operations, officials are extracting floodwater from affected areas to improve conditions, protect infrastructure and support residents during this challenging time.

“The municipality understands the difficulties and disruption caused and remains committed to responding with urgency, compassion and dedicated service delivery.

“We thank residents for their patience and co-operation as teams continue working on the ground to restore normality and keep communities safe.”