Alison Bevege and Bronwynne Jooste
16 November 2008
Cape Town — Western Cape residents are mopping up after the worst flooding the region had seen in years.
Montagu West was reunited with neighbouring Montagu yesterday morning after the raging Keisie River subsided overnight.
Municipal spokesperson Sanelle Posthumus said local businesses had donated hundreds of food parcels to residents who found themselves on the wrong side of the river for three days.
Relieved Montagu West resident Johanne Volschenk was finally able to return home to change his clothes, after being stranded on the wrong side of the river since Wednesday.
His brother Garvey Volschenk, who had been trapped in Montagu West until on Saturday, said fresh water was back on in the area and authorities were using excavators to improve road access.
A pulley system across the wild waters was pulled down as it was no longer needed.
Montagu resident Stuart Byrne said he had set the pulley up on Thursday night to ferry medicine to his grandfather as disaster management had not helped.
The Montagu Springs Holiday Resort was still waiting for power and water to be reconnected on Saturday.
The holiday park, which is insured, was closed for business.
But a steady procession of onlookers came through to look at the damage.
Staff member Geraldine Hartman said staff were still shocked by the damage.
"I took a walk earlier and I still can't believe the park looked like this. It's a very good thing nobody was hurt."
She said chalet number 45 was likely to be the 26th accommodation unit doomed for destruction. on Saturday it remained teetering with one half on the ground and one half in the river.
"It's mostly in the water." Touws River resident Joanie Jantjies, 38, said the town was mopping up now the river had subsided.
Her house had been more than ankle deep in muddy water after the Verkeerdevlei dam burst on Thursday night.
"My fridge was standing in water, my stove was standing in water and my cupboards - all were standing in water," she said on Saturday.
Like many other residents she has moved all her furniture outside now the water is gone so she could clean up her house.
Keisie Valley farmer Henk Steyn, 51, said about 20 farming families were still cut off after the Keisie river bridge on the road to Pietersfontein was washed away.
Enterprising farmers set up a makeshift bridge of two wooden poles lashed together over the foundations of the old bridge.
They carefully trod on the precarious poles carrying groceries across the river, setting up a shuttle system with one bakkie parked on each side of the river.
Steyn said the only way home to his wife and three children was to walk across.
"No one helped us except the farmers," he said.
Work had ceased on his peach and apricot orchard and also on his vineyard, as the six workers he employed had no way to reach the farm.
Steyn said it would affect his crops greatly - and he was running out of food.
Looks were misleading, he said.
A peach orchard that looked unscathed beside the Keisie river was actually damaged.
"Because the rain washed away the dirt road between the orchard and the river, the farmer will have to rip out the first row of trees," he said.
"It looks all right but there's very much trouble."
Farm transport driver Gobo Corads, 50, said he was keen for people in the cities to know how badly the region was hurt. "I want people in Cape Town to see what is going on here on the farms."
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