Cape Town - Eva Petesen, 72, from Riverlands recounted how water from the first erupted dam had nearly trapped her inside of her home during the early hours of the morning, and after a few attempts to escape, the force of the water had violently swept her out of her home.
Days after three dams on a property known as Dassenberg, owned by the National Government breached on August 8, residents in the quiet town are attempting to rebuild after the vast destruction as a result of the intense flooding.
West Coast Disaster Management spokesperson Heinrich Robertson previously said it was found that a third dam in a series of four dams had initiated the breach, resulting in the extensive and devastating flooding affecting Riverlands.
Petesen lived with two others, aged 64, and 52, in their home in Landbou. Following the event, she spends her days at The Love Church, where many are still seeking shelter following their displacement, and sleeps at another individual’s home at night. For many, this has become a norm since the flooding, spending the days between places, as homes were either swept away or made uninhabitable.
“The morning the water started (to come), it’s almost like a wind was blowing. And that’s how I woke up. That was 3:30am, 3:45am. I tried to leave my bedroom, I just put on my slippers, there wasn’t even time to grab my asthma pump, out of the room, the spare mattress fell over and I tried to get out and the water shut the door. I tried to open the door and the water shut the door again, for three times. When I eventually got the door open, I was washed out with the water as the water grabbed my knees with strong force.”
Elsabe Kay-Dirks, an after-school assistant at Riverlands Primary School, described the event as an ocean that had swept through Riverlands.
People who had spent days cleaning and recovering from the first flooding returned to their homes on Wednesday or Thursday, were met with a similar fate as the one just recovered from, leaving them again to evacuate and return to mop up.
Kay-Dirks said residents were hoping homes would be rebuilt promptly, particularly for those who are now without.
“They are getting aggravated because they are not staying in their own houses, they must stay with other people now and that’s a frustration for the people.”
She said ageing infrastructure and suspected theft of dam infrastructure are believed to have been factors at play in the dam breaching.
“We don’t know who is responsible for it really but we’re hoping to hear what really happened up there.”
Disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers (GOTG) was among the first on scene and remained out daily, distributing warm meals and other forms of humanitarian assistance.
GOTG project manager Ali Sablay said, once they were informed of water works infrastructure damaged and pipes washed away, the organisation deployed two tanks from the Eastern Cape and they have been working from August 10 until currently, providing clean drinking water to residents of Riverlands, Dassenberg, and Chatsworth.
“Our teams are working seven days a week… and then we had a concern from small-scale farms who informed us that they’ve got no animal feed or fodder. We brought in 400 bales of animal feed to assist the communities. We did quite a huge operation in Riverlands and it continues till today.”
On the agriculture side of Riverlands, residents had lost their goats, sheep, cows, and horses.
Cars were piled up and ruined, walls were lopsided, and missing fencing could be seen, with furniture and other household items strewn across the community.
Several homes were missing wired fencing, concrete walls and vibracrete, washed away or damaged by the flooding.
Resident Elric Krieling saw damages to fencing, furniture and plumbing, to the home that he occupies with his wife and two children. He managed to save his three dogs and cat and had to throw many household items away. He said the water was now seeping through, from underneath the cement flooring.
He said they were renovating prior to the incident.
“My wife doesn’t want to sleep here anymore, they don’t know the condition of the house, she’s a bit scared.”
The Swartland Municipality said it was currently caring for 128 residents spread across two community centres.
The municipality said it had requested on several occasions not to further intervene with the dam as the situation had stabilised and risks were mitigated.
An investigation is currently being conducted, led by the National Department of Water and Sanitation, to determine the cause of the dam wall break and how to mitigate a similar risk in the future.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za