Seven dead, more than 540 evacuated as floods ravage Nelson Mandela Bay

The number of fatalities caused by flooding at Kariega and in Gqeberha, in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area, has risen to seven.

According to the metro, one person is still missing.

Zolila Williams, a member of the executive council of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), was in Gqeberha on Tuesday to head the provincial disaster management centre in assessing the scope of the crisis, and to visit residents affected by the floods.

The metro on Sunday reported four fatalities at Kariega, as well as two at Kabega Park and Walmer in Nelson Mandela Bay.

A woman (18), a toddler believed to be between three and four years old, and two men are reportedly among those killed.

Volunteers from Gift of the Givers are providing assistance at Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay, following a weekend of severe rain that caused flooding throughout the region.

Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers, says the organisation has been communicating with the two metros since Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

He says infrastructure is damaged, lives lost, individuals are missing and injured, and one fire station is submerged.

“Gift of the Givers has the full support of the Eastern Cape South African Police Services’ general Lillian Mene and general Vuyisile Ncata, the head of the SAPS command in Gqeberha.

“NMB Business Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen has offered all possible assistance, and so have corporate companies.

“Gift of the Givers teams in East London and Gqeberha will be supported by team members from Cape Town, George, and Adelaide with emergency supplies already being loaded at these centres,” Sooliman says. – IOL News