Floods leave residents stranded

THE BARRAGE.- Heavy floods left hundreds of families and animals stranded at the Barrage Smallholdings (plots), near Vanderbijlpark recently.

This was a result of recent heavy rainfalls that would last for hours at a time. One of those affected, Matshediso Ramosunya (74) said her whole family was awaken by the irate sound of water from the Klipspruit Bridge.
“By the time we rushed outside at around 02:30 it was already too late and the house was flooded with furniture and clothes already soaked.”
Ramosunyana said that together with her family members they managed to rescue her grandchildren and the rest was history.
“I have lost important house materials that I have worked so hard for years before I retired. It’s heart breaking because I have been living on this plot for the past 31 years as I do not have a permanent home. All my chickens and dogs have been swept away by the rain.”
Asked if she intends to move from the plot, she said that she has nowhere to go.
Meanwhile a couple, Sakie (68) and his wife Martha van der Merwe (63) were also rescued by a South African Airforce helicopter after the heavy flood waters trapped them in their house at one of the Barrage plots recently.
Their family and dogs were saved by the SAPS’ water wing and the SPCA.
Danie Boschoff of Vaal Reaction Unit said that the last time they experienced such floods was around 2010.