Heavy rain brings flooding to Missionvale

With one of his only two jackets stuffed in the corner of his shack’s leaking roof and his bed already drenched, Greenfield resident Jurry Julie, 40, was left helpless when his home flooded at the weekend due to heavy rain.

His was one of several shacks that were left drenched by floods in the Missionvale informal settlement at the weekend.

Julie had only a handful of clothes tucked away in his partially damaged cupboard to keep himself dry.

His dishes were scattered on the floor in an attempt to protect his carpet from further water damage, but it was too late.

“I have no choice but to sleep on the wet bed with a wet blanket because I have nowhere to run to,” Julie said.

He attempted to drain the water from his carpet using a broom on Saturday morning, only making a small difference as the rain continued to pour down.

“I’ve used one of my only two jackets to try to cover the leaking corner but it’s no use,” he said.

“The rain hasn’t been too hard but even if it rains a little, it affects us badly.”

Several other residents woke up to their clothing and furniture floating inside their shacks.

In the streets, stagnant water was already knee-high, blocking roads.

Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said safety and security political head Queenie Pink had led a disaster management team to the areas hit with flooding.

“Missionvale is the most affected area,” Mniki said.

“We are monitoring the situation and trying to relieve people that need some form of relief.

“However, we are receiving reluctance in some areas because people do not want to move, fearing that their houses might be broken into.”

He said some residents were also reluctant to move to community halls for fear of contracting Covid-19.

SA Weather Services spokesperson Garth Sampson said more rain could be expected later this week but it would make little difference to the dam levels.

On Thursday, the city’s mayor storage dams levels stood at an 18.27% average.

“People must still use water sparingly because, while the rain is expected to continue, it’s making very little difference to dam levels, which are at only 18%. So people shouldn’t get excited yet,” Sampson said.

The catchment areas received some rain, recording an average of 28mm.

Bay road and transport portfolio head councillor Rosie Daaminds called on motorists to drive with caution.

Daaminds said she had received many reports on Saturday about flooded roads such as Stanford Road, William Moffett Expressway and Cape Road.

Other affected areas included the intersection in KwaMagxaki,  the R75 and the Old Uitenhage Road.

“We received reports in many wards across the city,” Daaminds said.

“We activated our officials to come to work today and they acted swiftly and unblocked the storm water drains that contributed to the flooding of the roads.

“The major roads have been cleared and are now reopened.

“Some minor roads inside the residential areas were also flooded but our teams attended to them.

“During the operations a lot of rubble was taken out, with plastics and stones also found in our drains.”

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