KOUGA – Roads remain damaged, residents displaced, and infrastructure under threat as the Kouga Municipality battles the aftermath of devastating floods.
Roads
According to a Facebook post by Mayor Hattingh Bornman on 11 May, teams are busy working on the busiest and worst-hit roads first.
He said that Weston Bridge is still closed but expected to be fully open very soon.
“Our machines are still busy getting debris from certain roads to make them safe for travel. Various bridges and river crossings have been flooded or completely washed away,” said Bornman.
He added that they are also engaging with the provincial Department of Transport to get work done on their roads that were damaged.
Water quality
Bornman said that water quality would be negatively affected by poor water inflow from flooded dams and boreholes.
He said that electricity outages in the Gamtoos Valley also affect water quality.
Electricity
Bornman said that transformers were lost in certain areas, but all Kouga grid areas were back on.
“There have been numerous attempts throughout this disaster to also disrupt and sabotage electrical infrastructure further. We have found cables stolen and wires thrown over electrical lines,” said Bornman.
He said that Eskom was still working on several of its lines connecting the Gamtoos Valley and Oyster Bay.
In addition, Bornman said that access to faulty lines has been challenging due to the very wet conditions.
He said that they have about 250 displaced residents who are in various community halls and private facilities across the municipality.
“Shelter and food have been provided by generous donations from so many members of the public,” said Bornman.
He added that various smaller areas in the Gamtoos Valley are still cut off from any outside access.
“Farmers are doing amazing work to get these roads open,” said Bornman.
Damage assessments
He said that teams are currently busy with assessments to determine the cost of the damage caused by the floods.
Bornman said that this would be submitted to the Council and National Government as part of their disaster submission.
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