Dozens rescued in PE floods

2006-08-03 19:01

Johannesburg - Professional and volunteer rescue services worked together to rescue dozens of people across flooded Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage on Thursday.

At least two people died, scores were evacuated and dozens rescued, said exhausted emergency workers.

Emergency services were swamped with calls for help. Teams of volunteers - working under the East Cape Emergency Services Co-ordinating Committee - helped out.

"Since 20:00 last night we've had 24 calls for the NSRI alone.

"We rescued 76 people, collected one body and saved 47 lives.

"We've also assisted 23 cows, one bull, 13 goats, five dogs, one cat and we've dodged a lot of snakes," said NSRI station commander Ian Gray.

The National Sea Rescue Institute team of 40 also pulled 13 vehicles out of flood waters.

Subsiding

Earlier Nelson Mandela Metro spokesperson Kupido Baron said the weather was subsiding.

"At this stage we're busy with mopping up and assessing level of the damage."

Baron said up to 30 people had been rescued and "a couple of thousand" had been evacuated from flooded area.

"We woke up and went to work yesterday morning (on Wednesday) and haven't stopped yet," said Gray.

Shack-dwellers on the low-lying flood plain along the Chetty River were badly hit and in Uitenhage the flooded Kruis River cut off areas. Shacks were under water.

Houses in the upmarket suburb of Amsterdamhoek along the Swartkops River were also flooded.

By the end of the day, the torrential rains had slowed to drizzle.

The NSRI's work started at 11pm on Wednesday night with rescuing a woman whose car was swept down the Baakens River.

A second car went into the river at the same time but the driver managed to get to safety by himself.

On Thursday, a BMW with a woman and her four-year-old daughter was swept into a river. The woman was rescued, but the child could not be found for several hours.

Hanging onto roofrack of car

Greenacres hospital said the child was found dead and her mother, who did not know of her child's death, was awaiting surgery.

Gray said the NSRI also rescued two people who were hanging onto the roofrack of their car in the Chetty River.

The NSRI helped evacuate the informal settlement along the Chetty River. Some swam ashore, others were rescued with jetskis.

A group of 35 people were rescued from what had become an island in the Chetty River, three people were rescued from a house roof in Zwide, 19 people and a dog were helped in Amsterdamhoek, a man was pulled from a river in Kleinskool and another from a river in Veeplaas, said Gray.

"I'm very proud of what the emergency services did last night and today. When the chips are down, the Nelson Mandela Metro emergency services - both professional and volunteers - can come together and handle a crisis of this nature," said Gray.

100s of shacks flooded

The Mountain Club of SA's Rob MacGeoghegan, speaking while helping rescue people and horses in Amsterdamhoek, said hundreds of shacks were under water.

"We've got low-level areas completely flooded out in river flood plains, particularly along the Chetty River."

His team of eight worked from Uitenhage's flooded Kruis River and Despatch to east of Port Elizabeth.

"One team helped get three people out of a tree, holding onto a thornbush, at Despatch sewerage works."

He said they tried to find four people reportedly trapped on a roof in Despatch, but could not get across the flooded Kruis River.

A helicopter could not reach them either and had to be grounded due to gales.

The surf lifesavers also helped enormously, MacGeoghegan said.

- SAPA