NSRI said multiple teams were deployed across the Western Cape to assist with flood rescues, where rising waters cut off access to farms and left workers trapped on rooftops since Monday.
Image: Supplied
A mass rescue operation was carried out in the Western Cape after farm workers were left stranded on rooftops by severe flooding between Worcester and Rawsonville, with 23 people rescued and three others found dead on a flooded farm.
IOL previously reported that the City of Cape Town confirmed flooding in at least 26 informal areas, while assessments are ongoing across affected communities.
According to the South African Weather Service, between 150mm and 200mm of rainfall has been recorded in some mountainous areas of the Western Cape.
The Provincial Department of Health and Wellness confirmed a total of six weather-related fatalities across the province since the first cold front made landfall last week.
The deaths were reported in Knysna, Wynberg, George, Worcester, Genadendal, and Klaarstroom (Meiringspoort), and were linked to fallen trees, structural impacts, and drowning incidents.
City of Cape Town disaster risk management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said assessments are ongoing, with early data showing extensive damage.
“We are working closely with our humanitarian relief partners who have already started assisting with meals and blankets in some of the affected areas – this relief will be extended as assessments are concluded,'' she said.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said its Kleinmond crew was activated on Tuesday just before 11 am, following a request for assistance from Western Cape Government Health EMS Metro Rescue and Disaster Risk Management services, working with Overberg Disaster Risk Management.
NSRI Kleinmond station commander Schalk Boonzaaier said the NSRI Kleinmond crew mustered at the station’s rescue base before proceeding to Worcester, towing the JetRIB rescue craft and accompanied by CROCS inflatable rescue craft and NSRI crews travelling in private vehicles.
Additional NSRI teams from Mykonos, Yzerfontein, Headquarters Station 1, and Melkbosstrand were also deployed across the Western Cape as part of ongoing flood rescue operations along the Old N1 roadway, he said.
NSRI confirmed evacuations included children, elderly people and a paraplegic man, with crews using inflatable rescue craft and ladders in difficult conditions to reach those stranded on rooftops.
Image: Supplied
“We were activated following a request for assistance from EMS Metro Rescue and Disaster Risk Management services after reports of farm workers trapped on rooftops due to flooding between Worcester and Rawsonville.”
He said Provincial Traffic Services and EMS Metro Rescue also assisted in the operation.
On arrival at the Old N1 roadway, crews launched rescue craft to reach the affected farm where 23 people, including farm workers and their families, had been trapped on rooftops since Monday due to rising floodwaters.
“On arrival at the farm, we found 23 people, including farm workers and their families, trapped on rooftops after floodwaters cut off access since Monday,'' Boonzaaier said.
He said evacuations included babies, toddlers, children, adults, elderly people, a blind man, and a paraplegic man, as well as domestic animals, and were carried out in relays using ladders and rescue craft.
''Once out of harm's way, safely on terra firma, they were taken into the care of the farmer,'' he said.
''Our rescue crew worked tirelessly despite challenging conditions, often wading and swimming through barely accessible terrain and flooded areas.'' he said.
He confirmed that during the operation, two men and one woman were recovered from flooded buildings on the farm. The bodies were handed over to SAPS and Government Health Forensic Pathology Services.
He said rescue crews were unable to recover a number of farm animals, domestic animals and wildlife, including snakes, due to increasingly dangerous conditions, adding that efforts continued where possible as floodwaters subsided.
“We are cautiously optimistic that, as floodwaters subside, these animals will survive,” he said.
''NSRI and all services involved express care and thoughts to those displaced by flooding.
''We express our deep appreciation for the cooperation with the emergency services during this operation.''
Boonzaaier said NSRI Kleinmond returned to base at 11pm, while NSRI Agulhas and NSRI Hermanus were mobilising to assist ongoing police and emergency operations on Wednesday.
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