Storm damage

Tens of thousands of Rand in storm damages were recorded in the city centre around 75 minutes after the hype around Friday’s Armed Forces Day parade that saw President Cyril Ramaphosa officiating at an occasion that had throngs of visitors showing up in full force.
Pomp and ceremony prevailed when South Africa’s armed forces displayed their might during the mid-morning event that resulted in Polokwane ground and air space being taken over, without hostile force.
Members of the public arrived in their numbers to view squadrons in drive-bys or marches down Suid Street beyond the perimeters of the grandstand accommodating a contingent of VIPs.
About an hour and 15 minutes later, however, matters took a turn for the worst when what was reported to be a cloud burst in the Serala View/Flora Park area resulted in a portion of Suid Street in the vicinity of the intersection with Dorp Street being flooded, causing city streets to be turned into almost inaccessible rivers by a mass of water that seemingly accumulated at storm water bridges crossing the water ways finding a path through the lower part of the city centre.

In the process a boundary wall at Ons Tuiste old-age home on the corner of Suid and Dorp streets got swept away, resulting in damages of an estimated R36 000 as the premises, where residents still viewed the passing parade from a vantage point an hour prior, got swamped. On Tuesday a gaping hole in the wall was still evident of the after-effects of a small-scale catastrophe. Opposite the road at the ring tennis and ring ball courts the entrance was left almost impassable and that evening’s practise sessions of the three resident clubs would have been impeded by debris left unattended on the playing field after the storm.
It was brought to Polokwane Observer’s attention that the bone of contention was identified as the bridge on Dorp Street, where blockages of the drainage system caused the overflow that led to the water mass taking its course down Suid Street before finding its way down the main street and ran down Marshall and Church streets before still trickling down Rabe Street. With rush hour in that part of the city traffic was hugely congested. A source at Our Home said that the blockages in the drainage system at Dorp Street were reported to the municipality more than once last year, but nothing has been done to address the situation. She also emphasised that the fallen wall now creates a security risk for the elderly people in the facility.
Signs of obstructions to storm water inlets and bridges at other locations in Magazyn, Dorp and Burger streets were also evident and it appeared that obstructions also compromised the free flow of storm water.

On Tuesday afternoon the tell-tale signs of an excavator seemingly having removed rubble and mud clogging the drainage system after Friday afternoon’s drama were evident. By then vast mounds of debris left in the wake of the passing water were visible where it blocked the water ways along Burger and Magazyn streets in the vicinity of Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Communications and Marketing Manager of Polokwane Municipality, Matshidiso Mothapo said that the Flora Park area received a heavy downpour that had characteristics of a flash flood hence the huge amount of water that went down through Marshall and Suid streets and being channelled into the Flora Park Dam and the Sterkloop stream on Suid Street.
“Though there could be some challenges elsewhere, the drainage system is maintained and working. However, it is naturally not possible for the system to swallow all the water that comes with a heavy downpour that had a flash flood character. The municipality has a routine maintenance program for storm water drainage systems that is ongoing and where there are challenges, services of experts are employed. There is currently a drainage system project that will kick-start to address storm water in the higher areas of Serala View and Flora Park. The studies and plans thereof are completed,” Mothapo said and added that the allegations about the municipality not clearing the passage under the bridge on Dorp Street have malicious intentions as the tree that had blocked the free flow of water was reportedly on the bank of the stream and collapsed into the stream due to the volume and velocity of water that was rushing downstream. “The trees restricted the free flow of water and the municipality’s roads and storm water unit responded and removed the tree with machinery in order to avoid any further damage and flooding. Any suggestion that the municipality tried to conceal evidence that it worked on removing and clearing the bridge area is absurd,” Mothapo concluded.

Story/photos: Editorial team