WORCESTER – Three bodies were recovered on Tuesday (12 May) from flooded buildings on a farm along the Old N1 roadway between Worcester and Rawsonville, as devastating floods continued to wreak havoc across parts of the Cape Winelands.

More than 20 people, including farm labourers and their families, were rescued from the same farm after reportedly being stranded on the roofs of buildings since Monday (11 May) due to rapidly rising floodwaters caused by heavy rain.

“Using ladders, the casualties, including babies, toddlers, children, adults, the elderly as well as one blind man and a paraplegic man, and domestic animals, were evacuated to safety in relays, using the flotation of our rescue craft,” said Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).

“Our rescue crew worked tirelessly despite challenging conditions, often wading and swimming through barely accessible terrain and flooded areas. Once out of harm’s way and safe on terra firma they were taken into the care of the farmer.”

Lambinon said the NSRI was unable to recover a number of farm and domestic animals, as well as wildlife, after conditions became too dangerous for rescue crews.

The NSRI, however, remained cautiously optimistic that some of the animals survived the deluge.

The Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) said people stranded at Eram Bricks outside Bonnievale were also rescued on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, in a coordinated emergency response between the Breede Valley Municipality (BVM) and the CWDM, a family reported to be in distress in the Three Rivers area, between Johnson Park and the cemetery in Worcester, was confirmed safe.

The man, woman and five children, including a seven-day-old baby, were deemed safe following a swift emergency rescue operation.

Another person was also rescued behind Eram Bricks in Bonnievale.

Rescue operations also continued in Gouda today (13 May), where eight families were trapped by rising floodwaters from the Kleinberg River. A total of 49 people, including men, women and children, were evacuated after emergency teams managed to reach the isolated community.

According to a statement by the CWDM, concerns were first raised on Sunday evening as water levels in the Kleinberg River, which runs through Gouda, continued to rise.

Authorities managed to establish contact with one of the affected families, who confirmed at the time that everyone was safe. The South African Police Service (SAPS) and disaster management teams maintained regular communication with the families while closely monitoring the situation.

However, conditions deteriorated rapidly on Tuesday afternoon as the river rose significantly, cutting off access to the affected area.

Due to multiple emergency incidents across the district, the NSRI Swift Water Rescue team was only able to reach the stranded families on Wednesday morning.