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GEORGE NEWS - First the downpour wouldn't stop. Then huge parts of town were left without water, while others battled without electricity. For Georgians, Monday 24 November was one of the worst Blue Mondays one could think of.

Most of the power outages had been restored by yesterday morning, Wednesday 24 November.

The water situation, however, was still a major issue by yesterday afternoon.

Severe flooding caused two massive pipe-bursts in Oewer Street next to the Kat River (500mm) and in Rooirivierrif (1 000mm), which in their turn caused the water outage. The matter has been exacerbated by a raw water pipe-burst over the weekend, which had left supply depleted.

The raw water pipe-burst has since been fixed. Water trucks have been stationed at areas across the city, helping residents, schools and hostels. Schools may notify the Garden Route District Municipality's fire department for water deliveries.

By noon yesterday, taps were still running empty.

Photo gallery: Flooding due to heavy downpour in George

Technicians were trying their utmost to locate the pipe-burst in Rooirivierrif, and an appeal was made to the public to notify the municipality should they find other pipe-bursts. During a site visit in Oewer Street yesterday morning, Acting Municipal Manager Dr Michele Gratz and Mayor Leon van Wyk said the repair work at the pipeline in Oewer Street was expected to be completed by the afternoon. 

"However, they can only open the water supply 50% at first, to make sure no other pipe bursts occur. Then it will take another 48 hours for the reservoirs and pipes to fill." 

If all goes according to plan, Georgians should be able to take a shower by the weekend. 

Gratz and Van Wyk thanked the public for their patience. Gratz said the municipality is currently working on a cost calculation of the total damage and intends to make a recommendation to the district council regarding disaster relief by Friday.

"Unfortunately more bad weather is expected over the weekend on Friday and Saturday," said Gratz. "This includes an amount of 40mm rain and gale force winds gusting up to 100km/h."

The flood

The heavy rains and flash floods on Monday left local authorities and individual households in disarray. Many have stories to tell of how their lives where turned upside down within minutes.

George measured 105mm of rainfall in a two-hour period, which led to extensive flash flood damage to private as well as municipal infrastructure. In total, George received 148,5mm of rain from Monday to Wednesday morning.

"It is with immense gratitude that the municipality can advise that no injuries or fatalities were reported following the storm," said municipal spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose. 

Photo gallery: Garden Route dam overflowing after heavy rain

"The George Fire and Emergency Services is aware of 26 formal houses that flooded, and to date over 800 families of informal structures have been identified as affected by flooding and requiring assistance. Emergency services responded to one motor vehicle accident on Monday."

George Chief Fire and Disaster Officer Neels Barnard said the municipality had been dealing with flood-related incidents since early Monday morning, including road closures and related peak traffic, damage to infrastructure, and matters of safety. 

He said the municipality works closely with other emergency services and social agencies to address impacts of flooding holistically.

Traffic

Traffic on Monday was a nightmare with major arterial roads into the city being flooded, including CJ Langenhoven (from Oudtshoorn) and the R102 from the airport into York Street. By late Wednesday morning, the only two roads that remain impassable are Madiba Drive (former Saasveld Road) where a section of the road collapsed, and the bridge in Pienaar Street between Conville and Rosemoor.

The Go George bus services had been temporarily halted, but have since resumed. Refuse removal was put on halt until yesterday, due to impassable roads and safety concerns.

George Municipality's main building was closed for business on Tuesday and Wednesday, due to the water shortage. "The cashiers do remain open and mobile toilets have been stationed," said Gratz.

Madiba Drive (Saasveld Road) is closed due to the road caving in completely.

The clean-up

Meanwhile a mammoth effort has been undertaken to clean the beaches, streets and rivers. A total of 79 black bags have been filled at Victoria Bay with the help of residents and the public. 

Clean-up action was also underway at Ballots Bay (137 bags) and Herold's Bay (220 bags). 

Photo gallery: Mayor inspects pipeburst in Oewer Street

Street cleaning teams will be clearing the streets which are full of debris. Community workers started assisting the municipality with the clearing of debris from the Meul, Kat and Molen rivers yesterday.

Councillor Jackie von Brandis, Mayor Leon van Wyk and Acting MM Michele Gratz. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

Relief

Social Development is on standby at community halls in affected communities for shelter, mattresses and blankets, meals and toiletries. So far, most people who had been impacted, had chosen to stay with family or near their homes to protect their belongings. A list of families and structures in informal settlements that were worst hit by the floods has been collated.

This list will be used for the various humanitarian relief operations currently underway in George.

NGOs too have been hard at work to help residents who were affected by the floods. These include Ashraful, who secured several truckloads of food and essential items from Johannesburg, Gift of the Givers, Eden and George Lions clubs and the Red Cross.

Should individuals and businesses wish to donate food, blankets, clothing, mattresses, bedding and toiletries, please drop these off at the Garden Route Food Pantry at 1 Glaze Street. Contact Carl on 082 826 0731 or Tillie on 072 188 1207. 

George Municipality will handle the assigning of donations to those in need.

Hard at work yesterday morning, 24 November, to prepare for the fixture of a 500mm water pipe next to the Kat River in Oewer Street. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

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