Cape Town – Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers is preparing to assist Komani residents who were badly affected by this week’s floods.
This comes after close to 1 000 people were displaced from their houses and moved to community halls and places of safety following a heavy rains which caused a nearby dam to overflow on Wednesday.
Gift of the Givers Eastern Cape co-ordinator, Corene Conradie, says disaster management teams, the local municipality and community members have been appealing for assistance from Gift of the Givers as the extent of the humanitarian crisis in the area becomes clearer.
“Gift of the Givers teams are loading essential supplies from our warehouse in East London to assist those affected.
“A urgent request has been made for hot meals, blankets and mattresses,” Conradie said.
Conradie added that all the teams would be on site by Thursday at 10.30am to assist those affected by the heavy rains and flooding.
In a statement, the Chris Hani District Municipality and Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality said some of the streets and bridges were also overflowing and had to be closed for the safety of motorists. Some had already been re-opened.
“The disaster management team is assessing the extent of the damage, with traffic officials monitoring the situation, controlling traffic flow and providing alternative routes.”
“CHDM teams and volunteers worked tirelessly to drain water from the the two premises using high-pressure pumps,” statement further reads.
The two municipalities further confirmed that, as a result of the heavy rainfall forced Life Private Hospital in Komani to evacuate patients and move them to Life East London Private Hospital.
IOL