Flooding worsened by blocked culverts, council report shows

Blocked and damaged culverts worsened Nelson Mandela Bay’s recent floods, which displaced more than 3,000 residents and disrupted roads, businesses, schools and healthcare facilities across the metro.

This is according to a report by new acting city manager Charity Sihunu which was tabled at a council meeting on Wednesday.

“Bridges and stormwater drainage systems have also sustained damage, reducing their capacity to manage heavy rainfall and increasing the risk of flooding,” she said.

No cost was given for the damage.

“The supply of electricity to businesses and settlements has been unstable due to intermittent power outages.

“Most downed power lines and substations have been restored.

“However, the electricity and energy directorate is prioritising the restoration of power across all affected areas.

“The water supply around Millpark was adversely affected when a large tree fell onto a water pipe, causing severe damage.”

A week after the rainfall filled dams to the brim, many suburbs are still without water.

The disruption was caused by high mud levels and electrical faults that hampered purification processes at water treatment plants.

In her report, Sihunu said stormwater drains were being continuously cleared and cleaned.

“Blocked or damaged culverts seem to have exacerbated the situation, contributing to water accumulation and restricting mobility.”

A culvert is a drainage structure, usually a pipe or concrete channel, built beneath roads to allow water to flow underneath and prevent flooding.

Sihunu said the metro received a high volume of distress calls as a result of the severe weather conditions.

“The high number of distress calls received has strained the metro’s capacity to respond expeditiously.

“With this limited capacity in mind, the metro has applied lessons learnt from previous incidents to improve overall response efficiency.”

She said due to the extreme weather, the municipality required additional resources, including rescue personnel, appropriate vehicles and relief supplies.

External stakeholders, including the provincial government, police, NGOs and humanitarian organisations, were mobilised to support relief operations where required.

Blankets, food and mattresses were donated.

“There are no recorded fatalities and injuries.

“Notably, about 3,020 people across various wards were affected by the floods and subsequently displaced.

“Others opted to find alternative accommodation with family and friends.

“Some have chosen to remain in their current residences due to fear of theft and property damage by criminal elements.”

Mayor Babalwa Lobishe told council that residents were still reeling from the effects of the severe weather.

“The damage to infrastructure and personal properties from these floods is extensive and runs into millions.

“More concerning has been the emotional distress of the victims of the floods and ravaging winds.

“The disruption of basic services, including water and electricity, has been the most concerning as it has hit our residents in the pocket.”

She said the metro would speed up recovery efforts and operations.

“We will do our utmost best to assist the indigent.

“We reiterate that we do not have the policy means to assist [in] all the instances, and we therefore encourage communities to claim from their insurance.”

She said the municipality had spent millions of rand responding to widespread flood damage across the metro.

Responding to Sihunu’s report, DA councillor Marshall van Buchenroder said the metro’s interventions were reactive rather than proactive.

“In this report, the northern areas is neglected. In this report, it shows disaster management went to Missionvale primary school.

“The DA is not against the recommendations but the quality of this report, we cannot accept it because we need a true reflection of what happened.”

DA councillor Roelf Basson said the report had excluded the M19 (Swartkops road), saying potholes had made it nearly impossible to drive on the section connecting Kariega to Gqeberha.

“This report says electricity has been restored, I’m not sure which electricity.

“Hardly any reference is made in this report of a huge disaster in Kariega.

“I can tell you, only my Ward 51 as well as 48 and 49, it looks like a war zone.

“It’s just trees fallen over and electricity cables on the ground.

“There’s no repairs being done on overhead [lines] and staff at the depot are complaining of staff shortages.”

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said: “The problem the city encounters now is you’ve got over 500 electricity faults because of weather conditions, but my concern is the municipality was sleeping.

“The municipality did not even communicate with our residents just a week before [the] weather conditions are going to change.

“With no plans put in place, a disaster or JOC should’ve been put in place not after but before.

“Uitenhage has 161 overhead lines that’s been damaged. There are about 50 underground ones now and [the area is] sitting with more than 200 electricity faults.

“I was informed by the ED [electricity directorate] there’s no capacity for what’s happening in Uitenhage,” Grootboom said.

EFF councillor Ndumiso Qwazi said while natural disasters might be unavoidable, the extent of the damage suffered reflected a serious failure of planning by the municipality.

“Our stormwater drainage systems remain poorly maintained and clogged.

“During previous disasters, these concerns were raised.”

Qwazi said he was also concerned that certain officials were allegedly prioritising service delivery based on political affiliation and wards controlled by particular political parties.

The Herald