Jet skis used to rescue residents

2006-08-03 12:22

Johannesburg - Rescuers are using everything from helicopters to jet skis to rescue stranded people in the flooded Port Elizabeth area.

"We're concentrating on rescuing," said head of the Nelson Mandela Metro disaster management team, Shane Brown.

"We're using helicopters, we're using everything we can, we've even got jet skis out in the water and rubber ducks."

A Nelson Mandela Metro helicopter was working in the Uitenhage and Despatch area, said Brown.

The Kruis River industrial area in Uitenhage was badly flooded.

Brown said the helicopter could not operate in Port Elizabeth as cloud cover was too low.

Hundreds have been rescued

Two SA National Defence Force helicopters were heading to the region from Durban.

He said rubber ducks, including one from the NSRI, and jetskis were also being used.

He said "hundreds" of people had been rescued.

One person had been confirmed dead and an unknown number were missing.

Earlier Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told a media briefing in East London that parts of three Port Elizabeth area hospitals were flooded. They were the Dora Nginza hospital, the Port Elizabeth Provincial hospital and Livingstone hospital.

The SA Weather Services said Port Elizabeth received 129.6mm of rain in the 24 hours to 08:00 on Thursday and unofficial measurements in some areas of the city were up to 270mm.

Humansdorp recorded 300mm of rain, Kareedouw 269mm and Joubertina 123.4mm.

Brown said anyone who was not an emergency services worker should "remain indoors as far as possible.

Widespread flooding

"At the moment it's crisis management. We've got widespread flooding. We're running a full-on rescue effort."

Brown said people were trapped on roofs and in vehicles and thousands had been evacuated to community halls.

Brown said the operations centre had been running since 19:30 on Wednesday and involved people from a range of services including disaster management, the municipality, traffic, fire, SAPS, the military, the NSRI, the mountain club, various government departments and NGOs. "We've got everybody."

Port Elizabeth schools and many business closed due to the flooding.

Nelson Mandela Metro spokesperson Kupido Baron said 17 roads were closed due to flooding and fallen trees. In most areas there are alternative routes.

"We are making an appeal to the public not to use the roads if they don't need to drive anywhere... because they may cause an unnecessary hold-up of traffic. We advise them to stay at home.

Vehicles stuck

"There's been an appeal from principals and teachers that children should not come to school because of the heavy rain, and in flooded areas people are requested not to come to work as well."

The Uitenhage area was particularly badly affected, said Kupido.

"At this stage we have lot of flooding in the western suburbs and the northern areas. In Uitenhage, in the Kruis River industrial area, people cannot go to work in that area because it's inaccessible."

Kupido said the bridge to KwaNobuhle was flooded, cutting that area off.

He said vehicles had been stuck but no deaths had been reported.

There were power failures in Kruis River, the Walmer Gqebera area, Greenbushes and Rocklands.

"At this stage it's very difficult for the electricity department to send in personnel to repair problems. We expect people will be without electricity... we will try to get people there as soon as roads are accessible."

On Wednesday night, a woman was rescued when her car was washed away in a flooded river.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Port Elizabeth station commander Ian Gray said the woman was crossing the Baakens River in Woodlands, a western suburb of Port Elizabeth, at about 23:00 when her vehicle was swept away. The Baakens is normally a sedate stream which turned into a raging torrent overnight.

Gray said she was in the water for two hours before rescuers located and rescued her.

He said four or five vehicles had been swept away by rivers, but nobody was missing or killed.

He said there were unconfirmed reports that some people had been washed away.

"We've had numerous calls during the night and currently that people are trapped in vehicles," said the NSRI's Gavin Riddle.

"The disaster management centre is working flat out," said Gray.

- SAPA