One Busy Vaal Day

NSRI, Police and the emergency services remain on alert and committed to assisting at flood areas along the affected Vaal vicinity where heavy rainfall is compromising dam water levels.

Our thoughts are with those affected and displaced by the flooding and by the rising water levels.

We are appealing to the public (at risk) to heed warnings to move (and in cases where they are being assisted to move) to cooperate for everyones safety. Efforts are ongoing.

We commend our volunteer rescue crews of NSRI Gauteng and NSRI Vaal Dam, as well as the SA Police Services, Police WPDS (Water Policing and Diving Services), Police K9 Search and Rescue, local CPF’s (Community Policing Forum’s), ER24 ambulance services, SARZA (Search and Rescue South Africa), Municipal Fire and Rescue Services, local community volunteers, local Municipal authorities (Emfuleni and surrounding Municipalities), local DRM (Disaster Risk Management), community volunteers and local security companies, for the efforts in challenging circumstances.

While NSRI, Police and the emergency services, are on high alert 24 hours a day every day of the year – there has been a focus on preparedness from early alerts of the local Dam’s – Vaal Dam, Bloemhof Dam and surrounding water ways where water levels were expected to exceed capacity – since early April, and the awareness that some areas would be affected – notices to evacuate were published by local DRM’s and there was awareness from a rescue perspective that in some cases residents were reluctant to evacuate and that in some cases suspected to be affected areas had not yet been breached by the rising waters (not tested and remaining unpredictable).

This all changed on Wednesday 23 April when areas that had not been breached by rising water levels began to run into critical danger levels.

Obviously from a rescue perspective our NSRI volunteers, in cooperation with Police and the emergency services, are keen to prevent any high risk rescue operations – so we were following closely the efforts by the Municipal authorities, DRM, local Police. Police WPDS, private ambulance services (in this case in particular ER24 ambulance services) appealing to residents in mostly what appears to be newly formed settlements (that appeared to be, in some cases, below the excess high water mark – taking into consideration dam water levels, where in some cases were reported to be 107% / 110% water levels forcing extra sluice gates to be opened) and sluice gates opened to maximum and/or close to maximum – it became inevitable that by Thursday there may well be rescue operations required.

While residents and businesses in areas that were threatened by rising water levels were making arrangements (in some cases that we know of it got to a point even where even the likes of furniture was being stored in trees) and while Police, DRM, Municipal authorities and local security, CPF, neighbourhood watch groups etc were appealing for evacuations – we were also aware that in a lot of cases residents were refusing to evacuate.

The main challenge was that some of these areas where there are new dwellings are not yet tested under historical flood conditions.

On Wednesday evening NSRI Vaal Dam duty crew responded to the NSRI Vaal Dam station 22 rescue base where the NSRI Vaal Dam rescue vehicle, towing the rescue craft RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) Spirit of Surfski 4, together with ER24 ambulance services rescue squad, MidVaal Fire and Rescue Services and Police WPDS (Water Policing and Diving Services) responded to assist where a family of a lady, her partner and their dog required rescue from a flooded dwelling. Efforts to locate them proved near impossible over flooded terrain, roadways and challenging terrain. During the search, that continued late into Wednesday night, in communications with the family, they indicated their refusal to leave. Fearing for their safety, at first light on Thursday morning, 24 April, a search for them continued but it became evident that they had escaped the worst of the flooding and although still at some risk they were committed to staying at their dwelling.

Also on Thursday, during midday, efforts were made to find persons reportedly at risk below the Vaal Dam wall but no signs of them were found and it is believed they escaped flooding without incident.

It is an extremely challenging effort, said Bradley Naicker, NSRI Vaal Dam station commander, that we are faced with, in many of these cases, under unchartered circumstances where dwellings that are relatively newly established and not tested to the high water flood lines.

On Thursday, 24 April, evening at 18h29 NSRI Gauteng duty crew were activated to assist in the vicinity of the Vaal River / N1 Freeway junction, where there was active flooding of homes and businesses.

NSRI Gauteng duty crew responded to the NSRI Gauteng station 27 rescue base (Benoni) where the NSRI Gauteng rescue vehicle, towing the NSRI rescue craft RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) Spirit of Shelly, responded to join the SA Police Services – Sedibeng Police, Police WPDS, Police K9 Search and Rescue, Community Policing Forum, ER24 ambulance services and Er24 rescue squad, SARZA and local security companies.

NSRI Vaal Dam duty crew were placed on alert to assist.

In cases, in the vicinity and beyond N1/Vaal River – residents were evacuated while in some cases, despite the threat posed and the appeal to heed to safety, some residents opted to remain.

By around 22h00 the situation had calmed and rescue resources returned to base.

During Friday we became aware that at least 10 sluice gates had been opened on the Vaal Dam. We braced ourselves knowing that areas not previously affected would now, most likely without doubt, be a risk to human and animal life downstream and a lot of the areas where earlier appeals had been made for evacuations – we knew those residents and their animals would be most likely affected.

At 17h27, Friday, 25 April, NSRI Gauteng duty crew were activated to proceed to Midvaal Fire and Rescue Services Fire Station to be on high alert with Fire and Rescue Services, the SA Police Services, Police WPDS, Police K9 Search and Rescue, Community Policing Forum, ER24 ambulance services and ER24 rescue squad, DRM, SARZA and local security companies – to be prepared to respond to emergencies as they progressed as was expected considering dam water levels, in some cases exceeded 110%.

During Friday afternoon and evening ER24, Police and Fire Services, in cooperation with local security companies, evacuated residents (where they cooperated) from where inevitable flooding was expected or was occurring.

At around 21h15 MTN’s 112 emergency alerted NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) in Cape Town of a man, his wife and their dog – at a relatively new settlement about 25 kilometers from Vanderbijlpark – on farmland, trapped between their dwelling and the roadway by flood waters.
The lady’s brother had called from Vryburg, appealing for help, however his 59 year old sister’s phone had run out of battery power, but reporting that she was with her 79 year old partner and their small dog and urgently in need of rescue.

NSRI Vaal Dam duty crew were also activated.

Faced with our worst fears, said Gerhard Potgieter, NSRI Gauteng station commander, using artificial light we responded to the area not really knowing where they were and launching our NSRI rescue craft, which at times we could motor and at times we rowed – knowing that debris, barbed wire farmland fencing, obstacles etc, would impede our progress eventually, following a search operation in extremely challenging terrain, we found them safe but we had to coax them to come with our NSRI volunteers (for their own safety).

The lady and her dog were keen to accompany us but the man was reluctant. We fully understand the difficulties of abandoning your home late at night on a Friday, but our appeals for their safety were heeded and by 23h30, secured on our NSRI rescue craft, we had them safely in the care of emergency and Municipal authorities, after negotiating the challenging terrain with our rescue craft to get them through flooded terrain to safety.

All services involved are commended for the swift response and cooperative rescue efforts in challenging circumstances.

It is hoped that the worst is behind us.