This week marks the anniversary of the tragic 2006 floods in Nelson Mandela Bay, a grim reminder that this is the time of the year that we are most likely to experience severe weather events, especially flooding.
August to October is particularly prone to flooding and severe weather in this neck of the woods.
According to the earliest weather records of the region, dating back to 1823, after a prolonged drought, settlers’ homes were flooded in October of that year.
Two of the three most destructive weather-related events in our city’s history were the 1902 Great Gale and the devastating 1968 floods, both occurring on September 1, Spring Day.
The Great Flood of 1908 occurred just out of this period, in November, which is unusual.
Though those events are confined to the annals of history, the tragic events of the August 2006 floods and many lesser recent events are still fresh in many residents’ minds.
The personal tragedy of these events will live in the memory of those directly affected for as long as they are alive.
I still find it sad looking at the school photo of smiling, pig-tailed nine-year old Cheryl van Dyk, who drowned with her father at the bottom of Russell Road, when they were washed off their feet by a torrent and trapped by flood waters during the 1968 event.
The media reported nine fatalities on that day — eight drownings and one electrocution when a resident was trying to plug a leak in the roof of his house.
The main reason for the relatively low number of fatalities is because the event occurred on a Sunday morning, when most people were at home in bed.
In 1981, 20 fatalities were reported, as that flood occurred during the week when many people were commuting to work. Fortunately, all schools were closed at the time.
There were nine reported fatalities in August 2006.
Who can forget the tragedy that occurred at the Riverstone Bridge crossing when Jolene Sampson’s car was swept off the bridge and landed up past the Kragga Kamma Bridge?
Her daughter, Kayla, and unborn child perished in that event.
Litigation followed and one of the outcomes was the installation of an early warning and monitoring system throughout the metro.
This comprised strategically positioned rain gauges and CCTV cameras at danger points, such as the Riverstone Bridge, Chatty and the Third Avenue Dip.
This system operated perfectly and efficiently for quite some time, until there was some political turmoil and differences with a service provider.
The CCTV monitoring link was the first to go, followed by the strategically placed rain gauges that monitored the amount of rainfall.
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Though the SA Weather Service continues to maintain a well-oiled early warning system, its efficiency locally on a micro scale is undoubtedly compromised by the loss of the CCTV link and rainfall feeds from the inner city.
After the recent Texas flooding disaster, there were calls for the installation of a similar system with alarm sirens along the river.
My question, as always, is how long will it take before people become complacent and these systems no longer get the necessary funding for maintenance.
Regular posting of photographs of the destruction caused by these events are all over social media platforms.
Add to that numerous risk assessments that have been done detailing the dangers and vulnerable areas within our metro.
Unfortunately, the poorer parts of the city, especially informal settlements, are the most vulnerable because they have little or no stormwater control.
It seems that the decisionmakers are not being proactive when it comes to flooding and are burying their heads in the sand.
According to an opposition politician’s recent post on social media, the municipality has more than R900m in unspent national funding to improve infrastructure in the metro.
Stormwater and disaster relief funding are areas where funds were not spent.
After any severe weather event, decisionmakers are quick to blame the event on climate change.
But not once have I heard of a major project that has been undertaken to mitigate the effects of climate change.
I call it flipping the climate change card to suit their narrative.
After the fact, millions of rand will be spent on reports, investigations and the like. These reports will then be shelved and collect dust.
With the high-risk season starting, the act of cleaning stormwater drains is a simple yet effective start to minimising risks and being proactive.
Legislation on large buildings having storage tanks to control the runoff and flow into the Baakens River could be a consideration for the future, to assist in reducing the effects of flooding.
Here I make specific reference to the Greenbushes area, which is the start of the Baakens, Chatty and Papenkuils rivers.
This week in history:
2006 — Kragga Kamma Bridge is severely damaged during floods in the metro.
Dam levels
67.92%, slightly down from the previous week’s 68.22%.
Impofu slightly down to 50.33%.
Weather safety tips:
As the history mentioned in this column shows, staying at home minimises risk during any severe weather event.
The Herald
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