Newcastle Mayor Cllr EM Nkosi with SED for Community Services; Mr Mandla Sithole and Protection Services Chief Traffic Officer; Mr Ashok Anandhaw

Report on heavy rainfall in Newcastle

Newcastle Mayor Cllr EM Nkosi with SED for Community Services; Mr Mandla Sithole and Protection Services Chief Traffic Officer; Mr Ashok Anandhaw

Newcastle Mayor Cllr EM Nkosi with SED for Community Services; Mr Mandla Sithole and Protection Services Chief Traffic Officer; Mr Ashok Anandhaw

Report on heavy rainfall in Newcastle
This morning, 23 February 2017, the Mayor together with the SED for Community Services: Mr Mandla Sithole and Protection Services Chief Traffic Officer: Mr Ashok Anandhaw held a media briefing to report on the heavy rainfall.

During the briefing the following was reported;

Housing
Approximately fifty-five (55) households with two hundred and twenty (220) people were affected.
• No injuries or fatalities has been reported;
• Vulnerable communities have been evacuated as follows:
– Lennoxton, Paradise and Siyahlala-la to Fairleigh Community Hall, where mattresses and blankets has been distributed to 26 people.
– H39: it was critical to assist with the relocation of one (1) to Section 4, Madadeni Hostel and 16 informal dwellings were found to have flooding due to spring water from the ground.
– 7 families from Khanana, Section 3 and 1 elderly woman, who was allowed to spend the previous night at Osizweni Fire Station has been taken to Madadeni Community Hall; K24 and 994 were found to have sewerage flowing in the yard and children playing on this heavily contaminated water; nothing has been done with regards to clearing the stream that flows next to houses especially all the K666, 667 and 669; council has begun to raise all three critical houses recently identified as most vulnerable and of which its occupants are still housed at the Madadeni Community Hall; 2 Donkeys were found trapped in the stream and it is impossible to rescue without proper equipment;
– Ward 1 on the Memel Road the Brink’s farm – 11 houses were assessed in one area and 8 more on the other side. Total assessed was found to be 19 houses of which only black roof covering sheets were distributed. There is nothing more council can be due to spring water and the farm being a private property;
– Bosworth Farm, 21 houses has been assessed though not complete due to inaccessibility to other areas. Teams have been instructed to carry out Field Operations Guides (FOG’s) which could drag the assessment for longer than expected;
– Blaaubosch especially ward 12 has been assessed. Monitoring is on-going.

Traffic & Roads
The following roads remain closed:
• Newcastle Taxi & Bus Rank
• Terminus Street
• Sutherland Street
• Finnemore Street
• Kirkland Street by Factory Plaza and between Bird & Sutherland
• Ayliff by construction & cutting
• Umfolozi (Amcor Dam)
• Vezubuhle access road at Roypoint
• Drive carefully between Drakensburg between John Parks & Impala

Schools affected
• SE Vawda – Paradise
• St Oswalds – CBD
• Thembinkosi – Osizweni
• Siyalungelwa – Ingogo
• Collateral
– Lincoln Heights
– Suryaville
– Lennoxton

Relief Mechanisms
• Newcastle is providing tapolins, plastic sheeting and blankets. District is providing blankets, plastic sheeting, mattresses, gel stoves and pots.
• Red Cross, SASSA and 911 Newcastle (Business Community) is providing non-perishable food items.
• Department of Human Settlements and Newcastle Housing ill support temporal accommodation where some of these families will be housed in Siyahlala Housing Project which is currently under construction.
• Department of Social Development will support with temporal care centre should need arise.
• The PDMC is on standby to provide and coordinate support that will be required through the District JOC.

Financial Implications
The estimated cost to replace the transformer is approximately R4 million. At the moment, the Department is continuing with the assessment of a number of municipal roads and storm water infrastructure to determine the damages and costs of repairing.

In conclusion, the municipalities in partnership with PDMC, sector departments are conducting damage assessment and relevant relief material is being issued to the affected and needy households. Based on the assessments and verifications conducted, a comprehensive beneficiary list will be compiled and submitted to the Department of Human Settlements and/or relevant sector Departments to ensure that affected families get the necessary assistance to normalize their lives.

3 replies

Comments are closed.