After years of the ongoing drought in the Northern Cape, the province was hit by torrential rains last week which caused extensive flooding.
Floods in the Buffelsriver area destroyed roads, bridges and infrastructure which resulted in approximately 10,000 residents from Kamiesberg, Nama Khoi, Richtersveld, Komaggas, Kleinsee, Buffelsrivier, Rooiwal, and Vioolsdrif being affected.
It was also confirmed that five people have died.
Chairman and founder of the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said the Karoo Hoogland Municipality also requested assistance for communities in Calvinia, Nieuwoudtville, Middelpos and Sutherland.
“Gift of the Givers has been in constant communication with the municipalities and disaster management in the various regions,” Sooliman said.
“They have requested humanitarian assistance from us and helicopters from the Northern Cape Government and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to deliver aid to impassable areas.
“Our vehicles transporting blankets, new clothing, food, Genesis, a nutritionally enriched, ready-to-eat porridge, eeZee peanut paste, hygiene packs and bottled water are en route from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Springbok which will be used as our operational centre,” he said.
He said the organisation has been extremely busy this year with multiple fires in Cape Town, floods in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West, Komani, Gqeberha, Port St John's, a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal and Vredefort, E. coli-affected Makhanda, with ongoing water deprivation in Adelaide, Bedford, Fort Beaufort and Alice.
Floods in the Western Cape and the landspout which took place in KwaZulu-Natal have also kept them busy
“Gift of the Givers has responded to every area, resulting in a major depletion of our supplies. We thank corporates and individual donors for their ongoing generosity,” Sooliman said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL