Cape crippled by flood

By Murray Williams, Ella Smook and Esther Lewis

The Cape was all but cut off from the rest of South Africa on Friday morning after flooding closed the N1 and a number of other key routes, leaving the N2 as the only remaining artery linking it to the country's economic heart, Gauteng.

The N1 was closed in the worst flooding since 1981 in Touws River and this morning trucking traffic was backed up for 5km on either side of the Donkies River.

Towns in the area have been left without electricity and hundreds of people are stranded, with many rescue operations under way.

The police's Danie de Bruin explained that the two alternate routes, via Montagu and Ceres, were also closed due to flooding.

"So currently there's no way out. They're stuck," he said at 8am.

Touws River, described by locals as "the forgotten town", was hard hit by flooding after the Touws and Donkies rivers burst their banks.

Coupled to this, rain water and melted snow ran down from the Ceres mountains.

Late on Thursday afternoon, the Bokkeveld dam was in danger of crumbling under the pressure. The sluice was opened to release the pressure, causing an even greater deluge of water to run through the town, situated just off the N1, about 40km after Worcester.

The water engulfed part of the N1 at the Donkies River bridge in less than three hours, cutting off the highway. Hundreds of trucks, taxis and other vehicles have been trapped on the road since 11pm.

Premier Lynne Brown was ex-pected to arrive by helicopter in Touws River this morning to assess the extent of the damage.

The only access road to one half of Touws River's population of 7 000 had been flooded by Thursday afternoon. About 80 people, most of whom lived in the RDP houses on the river bank, were moved into the community hall.

On the other side, roads and houses were submerged in water, trapping several elderly residents.

But as Searl Derman's Aquila game reserve became flooded and tourists were evacuated, he deploy-ed his team to transport those trapped, including their pets, to safety. He also supplied blankets and 200 meals to affected people.

Among them were Fiela, 70, and Willem Beegenaar, 77. Fiela said that as the water levels started to rise, she had packed some of her best clothes into black bags and placed them on her bed. When she was evacuated from her house, her bed had been floating. She didn't have time to take anything with her but her handbag.

"I had to leave everything behind. I don't even want to think about what my house looks like. It's heartbreaking," she said. She and about 25 other people are being housed in a primary school hall.

Zodwa Magwaza, Social Development MEC, said that of all the areas in the Overberg, Touws River was the worst off.

"We need all the help we can get," she said and asked for food and blankets to be sent from Cape Town, but the closure of the N1 has made delivery nearly impossible.

Towns and areas hit the hardest so far include Montagu, which remained cut off to the west from Ashton today after the Kogman's River flooded, Greyton, Genadendal and Robertson.

Police in De Doorns reported that a hippopotamus had escaped from the nearby Aquila game reserve and that an elephant had broken loose last night. "It's been absolute chaos," De Bruin.

He said the bridge over the Donkies River appeared to have been permanently damaged and was being inspected by engineers at the time of going to press.

Regional disaster management head Reinard Geldenhuys said 35 people had been rescued by helicopter by this morning.

"But we're planning another rescue now where people are stranded," he said. "The Breede River is still rising."

Frans Mouski of the Department of Water Affairs said the river levels recorded at Swellendam's weir were "the highest record we have for that weir - ever".

Numerous areas along the river were without electricity.

In the Overberg region, all major routes, including the N2 and the R60, were reopened after being closed on Thursday. Superintendent Patric Lee of the Swellendam SAPS said motorists should regard the roads as slippery and remain vigilant because there could be damage police did not know about.

He said that in Swellendam major water and sewerage pipes and electricity cables as well as bridges and roads had been damaged.

On Thursday the town was cloaked in darkness as a result of damage to the electricity infrastructure.

Lee said the town of Suurbraak was without water as a result of debris blocking intake pipes.

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old girl, trapped in her Touws River home by flooded roads, went into labour last night. Her contractions were about five minutes apart when Breede Valley Fire and Rescue officials got to her. She was rescued by boat and taken to a hospital in Worcester.

• This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on November 14, 2008