Limpopo flood damage put at R300m

Limpopo flooding (Elana Treu-Viljoen, Supplied)

Johannesburg - Limpopo's January floods caused damage estimated at over R300m, the transport department said on Tuesday.

"The estimated damage to the roads and bridges according to the preliminary inspection is R317m," spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso said.

Minister Ben Martins visited the province on Monday and Tuesday to inspect the areas damaged by the floods.

"Many communities have been affected," Martins said in a statement.

"The destruction of roads and bridges has exacerbated the infrastructure backlog, considering that many communities still do not have access to adequate transport infrastructure and services."

According to preliminary reports, 61 bridges and roads were damaged in the Vhembe district, 24 roads and bridges were damaged in Mopani, 12 roads and bridges were damaged on Sekhukhune, and five in the Waterberg, he said.

The affected communities were looking to the government to address their plight, but it could attend to their needs only if public servants were willing, Martins said.

He said the transport department intervention team had made significant progress stabilising the provincial department and its agencies.

The team had introduced various measures to improve governance, financial accountability and service delivery.

Where there was "prima facie evidence of transgressing the law", it had referred cases to law enforcement.

Martins said disciplinary action was being taken against people who undermined policies and government procedures in the province.

Various vacancies would also be filled.

"Whatever we do should be informed by due processes," he said.

"Notwithstanding the work of the democratic government since 1994, a lot still needs to be done to address the skewed distribution of resources within and between communities."

He said it was important that the effort to stabilise the province was sustained even after the intervention team had left.

- SAPA/News24

Damaged E Cape roads receive R300m boost

FLOOD-DAMAGED Eastern Cape roads have received a R300-million boost.
This was announced this week by the province’s acting deputy-director general of roads and public works, Sandile Booi, and his general manager of roads planning, Craig McLachlan.

T he two men spoke of positive behind-the- scenes moves affecting the fate of the crumbling provincial network.

They also spoke about the Eastern Cape’s road maintenance backlog of R17-billion and the struggle of municipalities to maintain and discover new, informal roads springing up in the province’s 35000km municipal road network.

The department had worked with municipalities and was putting the final touches to the research on the municipal network.

Describing the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) as one of the best parastatals in the country, they said Sanral had in April agreed to take over 4750km of the Eastern Cape’s central road network for no extra cost.

Sanral had since brought R150-million into the province to be spent on roads. This left the department with 42000km of roads to maintain, 38000km of this gravel and 4000km tar.

In a surprising anomaly, they said the uproar over the e-tolling of roads in Gauteng had caused a delay in Sanral funding there, and this had seen a further R100-million being pushed into Sanral road projects in the East London and Mthatha areas.

What excited the two men most, however, was a new national funding model for roads which kicks into action in April and will see the Eastern Cape receive a far greater allocation from national treasury.

The model is based on a new scoring system which takes into account the vast distance covered by the province’s road network, its current terrible condition, and weather conditions.

In the department’s annual report, which was released in October, the cost of flood damage between November 2010 to March this year was put at R1.08-billion.
They said they were putting the R300- million received in flood disaster relief for the 2011 and recent floods to work in 30 different projects.

However, R100-million of this was mainly for the hardest-hit areas in Cacacadu District Municipality, especially Ndlambe, Makana municipalities and Nelson Mandela Metro.

On the downside, they admitted the Eastern Cape public was raising a cacophony of protest over the disastrous condition of their roads. However, they said the department’s R1.9-m illion budget only covered 26% of what was required to get the network running properly.

“We have accepted that figure and are finding ways to work within our economies of scale,” they said. They described their 3000- strong roads department as “lively” and committed.

- Daily Dispatch

Images: FLOOD: Boundry Ave, Mount Pleasant

Photos taken by myself of Boundry Avenue, Mount Pleasant, PE on 9:45Am 21 Oct. 12 -  

Dawi Strauss

Eastern Cape still assessing flood damage

The Eastern Cape government was still assessing flood damage in the province, two MECs said on Tuesday.

“At this stage, we are still finalising the assessment of the damage in order for us to indicate how much it will cost government to attend to these disaster incidents,” local government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane and transport MEC Thandiswa Marawu said in a joint statement.

Engineers, the army, municipal officials, and disaster management teams were fixing roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by heavy rains.

Construction of a temporary bypass on the N2, between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, was expected to start on Friday, after a 30m section of the road collapsed.

A report on the damage would be sent to the national departments of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and the Treasury, prior to it being sent to President Jacob Zuma's office.

“We will send an SOS appeal to President Zuma to declare a special disaster fund to attend to these incidents in our province,” they said.

The MECs appealed to motorists to be patient and cautious while the roads were being repaired.

- Sapa/IOL

Road damage assessed in Eastern Cape

Johannesburg - Disaster management teams and road agency officials were assessing the rain damage to roads in the Eastern Cape, the local government department said on Monday.

"Following a weekend of heavy rains, flooding and bad weather, our disaster management officials are busy mopping up and attending to minor loose ends," spokesperson Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha said.

Displaced people and affected households, commercial centres and community amenities were also being assessed for damage and a decision would be made on whether to declare a state of emergency in those areas.

On the N2, an embankment had collapsed, leaving a 45m gap in the road, cutting off access between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth. The road had been closed to traffic.

The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) was looking at both the cause and the best methods to repair the road. It was examining repairing gravel roads to create a detour for light vehicles. The full embankment repair was expected to continue into 2013.

Sanral-recommended alternative routes were via the R343, leading off the N2 about 10km west of Grahamstown to Kenton-on-Sea, and then via the R72 to Port Elizabeth.

A much longer alternative from Grahamstown via the R350 to Bedford, Cookhouse and the N10 to Port Elizabeth, was also available.

The N2, between Peddie and King Williams Town had been reopened to traffic.

On the N2 Port Elizabeth bypass, one lane of the freeway was closed at the Standford Road interchange, which would have affect peak hour traffic.

There was a partial collapse of the R72 between Port Alfred and Alexandria. Temporary arrangements had been made to open one lane, with a "stop and go" operation in place.

People travelling between Port Elizabeth and East London should turn onto the R63 just outside King Williams Town, continue through Fort Beaufort and Bedford to the N10 near Cookhouse, then continue with the N10 past Paterson to Nanaga to join the N2 to Port Elizabeth.

This was the recommended route for all heavy vehicles travelling between the Port Elizabeth and East London.

The St Francis Bridge in Humansdorp had collapsed, and the Kasoga Bridge between Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred was near collapse.

Other areas affected were Kouga, the Nelson Mandela Metro, and the Ndlambe municipality.

Drivers were advised to exercise extreme caution on all roads as the prolonged rains had increased the rate of pothole development.

- SAPA/News24

Images: Flooding in parts of the Eastern Cape (18 - 22 October 2012) Part 2

Photos taken by myself of Boundry Avenue, Mount Pleasant, PE on 9:45Am 21 Oct. 12 - Obs. Dawi Strauss

Photo taken, Main st Bathurst - Christine Webber

Sports field: Country Club, Port Alfred - Christine Webber

Photo of Masonic St. Port Alfred - Christine Webber

Road just before Kleinemonde which is on the way to Fish River - Christine Webber

Fish river caravan park. R72 - Christine Webber

N2 between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown. — Alta Drake Vrey.

Sandriver Bridge Collapse - Jo-ann Smith at St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape.

Baakens River at Brickmakerskloof Port Elizabeth - Ryna Bakkes

This is the "little stream" at maitlands river mouth - Nick Cadle

Images: Flooding in parts of the Eastern Cape (18 - 22 October 2012)

Jordan du Toit writes: Grahamstown flooding as of this afternoon. It's getting hard to drive in town let alone go anywhere else.

Dory writes: Tab betting bar in Port Alfred

Rick Engelbrecht reports: The effects of the rain on Old Seaview Rd Port Elizabeth

Rick Engelbrecht reports: The effects of the rain on Old Seaview Rd Port Elizabeth, another view

Nina Rossouw reports: A washed away Saltvlei road in #portalfred, just below the golf course looking east towards Kelly's beach


TO BE UPDATED........

Section of N2 collapses in Eastern Cape

Johannesburg - A section of the N2 between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth has collapsed on Saturday evening, the provincial government said.

Provincial traffic and disaster management spokesperson Tshepo Machae said the collapse was due to rainfall in the area.

Machae said additional information on vehicles affected or potential casualties was not yet available.

- SAPA/News24

SAWDOS: See images published earlier on the blog. The road is closed to traffic and will take up to 6 months to repair.

Australia floods report reveals engineers' laxity

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard views flood damage from a helicopter above Wagga Wagga, Australia on March 7 2012. Thousands of people have evacuated properties south west of Sydney as flood water swamps towns and farms. (Andrew Meares, AP)

A report into last year's devastating Australian floods found on Friday that dam engineers breached their operating manual as the crisis deepened by delaying the increase of water releases.

The 2011 Queensland floods are likely the most costly natural disaster in Australian history, swamping an area larger than France and Germany combined, flooding 29 000 homes and businesses and affecting 2.5-million people.

Thirty-three people died in the disaster, which is estimated to have cost more than $5-billion (US$5.3-billion) and which flooded the Brisbane River, bringing the Queensland capital to a standstill.

In its 658-page report, the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry found that Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam was operated in breach of its manual from early on January 8 until late on January 9, before Brisbane and nearby Ipswich flooded.

"What should not be overlooked is that the manual itself was ambiguous, unclear and difficult to use, and was not based on the best, most current research and information," it said.

No cover-up
Despite the breach, expert evidence to the inquiry was that the flood engineers had managed Wivenhoe so that its flood mitigation effect was very close to the maximum achievable within the constraints of the manual, it added.

The report recommended that three engineers working at Wivenhoe during the crisis be referred to the Crimes and Misconduct Commission over whether they had misled the inquiry. The three deny any cover-up.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh acknowledged the prospect of a class action against Seqwater, the government-owned operator of the dam, was now possible but said the report on its own did not prove liability.

"It opens the possibility of legal action but it does not, of itself, establish liability," she said.

In its report, the commission said while there was no doubt the floods took a state more accustomed to drought by surprise, officials had responded well.

Room for improvement
The response, if not perfect, "compares favourably with the apparent paralysis of government agencies and breakdown in order apparent on the Gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans", it said.

But it noted room for improvement in planning, despite the fact the floods were unprecedented, at times completely unexpected, and striking at so many points at once that no government could have met all demand.

The report said that while the Wivenhoe Dam had a flood mitigation capacity, this was reduced by the volume of water it was holding ahead of the downpours which began in December 2010.

It said while the amount of rain due to fall into the dam could not have been predicted, what was concerning was the "apparent inertia of government when the possibility was raised".

-- AFP

10 missing in Turkish dam burst

Ankara - An official says a hatch inside a dam burst, causing flooding that has left 10 construction workers missing in southern Turkey.

Gov. Huseyin Avni Cos of Adana province said Friday that the hatch could not hold under high pressure after heavy rains.

The dam is being constructed over the Gokdere River near the town of Kozan in the Adana province.

Authorities say two other workers were rescued alive in the flooded river bed.

- Sapa-AP-IOL

Flood cause R500m in damages

Rebuilding the infrastructure and houses that have been destroyed by the recent Mpumalanga floods will cost close to R500million.

The most expensive will be roads which have been estimated at a cost of R266million.

The provincial government and municipalities have only managed raise R61.7million.

A total of five municipalities were declared disaster zones on Friday.

“The national and provincial governments are both assisting financially through its relevant departments,” Nkomazi executive mayor Thuli Khoza

- EWN

Vloede: Waternood in Hoedspruit

Johannesburg – Swaar reënval in Limpopo die afgelope week het infrastruktuur beskadig en die watertoevoer in en om Hoedspruit geaffekteer, het ‘n plaaslike beampte Donderdag gesê.

“Daar is ‘n ernstige tekort aan water in die Hoedspruit-gebied, aangesien al die water besmet en ondrinkbaar is,” het John Seokoma, woordvoerder van die Maruleng-munisipaliteit, gesê.

“Water word dringend benodig. Meer as 220 huishoudings word direk geraak, en dit sluit plaaswerkers en skade aan plase uit.”

Volgens Seokoma is die munisipaliteit en vrywilligers van die SA Rooikruisvereniging besig om gemeenskappe op te lei om water te suiwer.

“Ons het ‘n aanduiding dat mense 20 000 liter water daagliks gebruik... enige skenking van ‘n bottel water word benodig en sal waardeer word.”

Die munisipaliteit het ‘n rampverligting-rekening geskep en mense kan die munisipaliteit se webwerf besoek om uit te vind hoe skenkings gemaak kan word, het Seokoma gesê.

Aanvanklike skattings wil dit hê dat sowat R6 miljoen se oeste – insluitende avokado’s, sitrus, mango’s en koring – verwoes is.

Tot R21 miljoen se skade aan infrastruktuur – insluitende hekke, toerusting, damme en stoorkamers – is in die aanvanklike verslag geskat.

- Volg Nuus24 op Twitter


- SAPA

Mozambique: Storms, Floods Kill 10

Disaster relief officials say storms have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and killed 10 in the southern African nation of Mozambique.

Radio Mozambique on Monday quoted the National Disasters Management Institute as saying the most recent flooding victim died Sunday in the southern town of Chokwe. That brings the total toll to 10 since a tropical depression brought fierce rains and wind last week.

Storms have abated, but Dulce Chilundo, director of the national emergency office, told Radio Mozambique the government is feeding and housing more than 56,000 people whose homes and belongings were swept away.

The governor of Gaza, Raimundo Diomba, says several schools in his southern province were destroyed. Elsewhere, flooding has made stretches of highway impassable.

- AP/ABC News

Skade van Hoedspruit-vloede R30 m.

Johannesburg – Die onlangse oorstromings in Hoedspruit in Limpopo het op plase skade van sowat R30 miljoen aangerig, het RSG berig.

Sitrusboere langs die Blyderivier word die ergste geraak en vrugtebome is onder water as gevolg van riviere wat hul walle oorstroom het.

Op die mango-plaas Mahlatsi het produksie vir twee dae tot 'n stilstand gekom en meer as R500 000 se skade is gely.

Intussen het die Mopani-distriksraad in Limpopo aangekondig hy gaan vra dat die Hoedspruit-omgewing tot 'n rampgebied verklaar word. Dié besluit is geneem op 'n spesiale raadsvergadering in Tzaneen.

Meer as 200 huise en sewe brûe is beskadig weens die oorstromings in die oostelike dele van Limpopo en Mpumalanga, het die radiostasie berig.

Joshua Matlou, burgemeester van die Mopani-distrik, sê die raad kan nie meer die situasie hanteer nie en die nasionale regering sal moet ingryp.

- RSG Nuus/Nuus24

Groot skade aan N4-pad aangerig

Johannesburg – Die swaar reën wat die afgelope 48 uur in die Laeveld uitgesak het, het erge skade aan die teeroppervlak van N4-tolpad in die Laeveld veroorsaak.

Skade kom van Nelspruit af tot by Komatipoort voor.

Op verskeie plekke het die boonste 20 mm van die teerlaag as gevolg van die reën begin opskilfer.

Die ergste skade kom tans voor in veral Krokodilpoort net voor Kaapmuiden asook by die omgewing van die Total-vulstasie tussen die Nkomazi-tolhek en Malalane.

Volgens Anita Heyl, woordvoerder van Trac (Trans African Concessions) sukkel hul werkers om die teer wat los kom, van die pad te verwyder.

“Bo en behalwe dat dit hard reën, spoel nuwe stukke teer los sodra die ander rommel verwyder is.”

Naby Komatipoort is ’n nuwe pad wat van die N4 na Tenbosch gebou word, ook besig om probleme te veroorsaak.

“Die grond van die padwerk spoel in hierdie stadium oor die N4,” sê Heyl.

Sy sê die reën en mis veroorsaak dat sig in die Laeveld baie swak is.

Sy waarsku motoriste ook om versigtig te bestuur omdat water op verskeie plekke oor die pad stroom.

Herstelwerk aan die N4 kan eers begin wanneer die reën opgeklaar en die teerpad droog is.

- Beeld

Flooding causes chaos at Kruger Park

Mbombela - South African National Parks (SANParks) issued an urgent warning on Wednesday that certain gates and roads have been closed as a result of heavy rainfall in the area.

It said that the Phalaborwa, Crocodile Bridge and Giriyondo border post entrance gates have been closed.

Biyamiti Bush Camp, Shimuwini Bush Camp, Talamati Bush Camp and Tshokwane picnic site have also been closed.

Evacuations

The Tinga Private Lodge is being evacuated and guests that were on the Sweni Wilderness Trail have already been evacuated. The SANParks helicopter is currently being used for evacuations where necessary.

The roads between Letaba and Olifants and Letaba and Phalaborwa are not accessible, and all gravel roads and low level bridges must be avoided, SANParks warned.

Letaba camp is without electricity as the generator room flooded.

The causeway on the tar road between Skukuza and Malelane/ Pretoriuskop at Delaporte Waterhole flooded.

The tar road between Nwamanzi Lookout and Olifants River Highlevel bridge on H1-4 has been extensively damaged and closed.

The causeway over Nshawu River on tar road between Mopani & Letaba (H1-5) flooded, as has the causeway over the Letaba River on tar road between Mopani and Phalaborwa Gate (H14).

The causeway on the tar road between Letaba and Phalaborwa gate (H9) near Letaba flooded, which resulted in the closure of Phalaborwa gate.

As a result of above Olifants and Letaba cannot be accessed at the moment.

SANParks said it will issue further updates on the situation during the afternoon.

- News24

4,000 Brazilians evacuated as dike bursts after heavy rains

Image: People watch water run through a washed-out road Thursday in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state

Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN) -- Brazilian authorities on Thursday said they were evacuating 4,000 people in the state of Rio de Janeiro after days of heavy rains burst a river dike.
According to the Municipal Civil Defense, floodwaters opened up a 20-meter-wide crater in the highway outside of Campos dos Goytacazes, which is about 275 kilometers (170 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro.
Heavy rains across southern and central Brazil have also wreaked havoc in the state of Minas Gerais, an inland state to the southeast of the nation's capital of Brasilia.
This wet weather spurred mudslides and flooding that earlier killed eight people and forced another 10,000 to leave their homes. This state has declared a state of emergency in 71 towns.
January is usually a month with heavy rains. A year ago, more than 800 people died due to floods in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

- CNN

Implementation of 2011 Flood Relief Scheme

AGRI NEWS - A meeting arranged and chaired by the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development was held on 7 December 2011 at Upington to discuss the implementation of the 2011 flood assistance scheme, based on the R131.862 million that was allocated for disaster relief for the financial year ending 31 March 2012.

The invitation was addressed to amongst others, Agri SA, Agri Northern Cape, Department of Water Affairs and Eksteenskuil Agricultural Co-operative, and was well attended by representatives from these organisations.

It was also noted that the Orange River Farmers Union represents 22 Water Users Associations and two Independent Water Boards.

A broad overview of the flood damage and the status of the repair programme were given.

The substantial damage to the infrastructure was clearly seen from pictures and it also shows what individual farmers have done to repair some of the flood and protection walls.

Following this, the content of the 2011 flood assistance scheme was discussed. It came clear that the scheme, as it has been approved, does not cater for the repair of the protection walls or levees on either state or on private land to protect large areas of irrigation land, livelihood of farmers and those living on the land. The subsidies provided for in the scheme are not adequate since some of the individual protection walls can cost more than the value of a particular farm. In the low-lying areas e.g. Eksteenskuil, where small farmers and subsistence farmers are not in a position to make any contribution whatever the nature, due to the huge damage and that well equipped and skilled contractors will have to be called in to do the repairs.

Although there is great appreciation for the Government’s assistance, the meeting proposed that as a first priority the funds should be used (as a 100% subsidy) to fully repair all the protection walls alongside the flooded area, since it is regarded as key conservation works as risk reduction against future floods.

If this route is not taken, many farmers will not be in financial position to repair these works on their own properties within the current subsidy scheme of 50 % of the cost of repair. This will leave some of these protection walls or levees “open”, which can cause future disaster flooding. The same arrangement must apply to the small and subsistence farmers.
The meeting suggested that second, third and fourth priority should be the repair of privately owned water installations and canals; roads (referred to as farm roads) soil conservation repair works.

The meeting discussed a range of strict control measures that must be in place and that the regulations must be drawn up as soon as possible. Representatives of Organised agriculture indicated that they will fully support such measures. The 24 Water Users Associations and two Independent Water Boards confirmed that they interpret “own contribution” as defined in
the Government Gazette as their duty to supervise and inspect while the repair of the works are being done. They are also prepared to serve on the task team who will perform the duties of verifying and signing off when the work is completed.

At provincial level Agri Northern Cape will serve on the Coordinating body while Agri SA will serve at national level.

Concern was mooted that the small number of local contractors will not be able to cater for the demand and that the scheme must allow for contractors from outside the area to tender, but with the strict proviso that local unemployed persons must be appointed to do the bulk of the work.Local registered engineers should also be contracted to assist with the planning of the work, supervision and signing off The completed works.

There is a lot of confusion on the rule in the framework of the 2011 flood assistance scheme that states “repair means restore to applicable standard (in DAFF terms)”. There are no specific standards and it is recommended at the norm of the 2011flood be used. The height of the flood namely the m3 water/second at the Upington bridge measured at +500mm and should be used as the future standard. The onus rests with the farmers to comply to these standards. Those works already completed by individual farmers will be dealt with under the rules of the current scheme.

Urgent presentation to the relevant authorities to amend the present Flood Assistance Scheme will be prepared by the provincial department of the Northern Cape for submission to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Courtesy of Agri SA and George Herald