Gift of the Givers was delivering humanitarian aid to families affected by the dam burst in Riverlands when residents suddenly ran down the road, screaming 'Die water kom, die water kom', as the fourth dam burst.

Listen to this article 4 min Listen to this article 4 min 'When the water came down, you could see the trauma and children becoming hysterical and the chaos... as people evacuated their homes, screaming," says Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay.

On Saturday, the Swartland Municipality was forced to evacuate Riverlands residents again following work that the Department of Water and Sanitation was doing at the fourth dam which resulted in a flash flood. The water came down a spillway created by the department to minimise the risk of flooding.

The municipality blames the work the department was doing at the fourth dam on Dassenberg Farm, which belongs to the national government. It says it told the department not to intervene further with the dam because the situation had been stabilised.

On Thursday, 8 August 2024, the wall of one of the dams on Dassenberg breached, affecting two neighbouring dams and resulted in severe flooding to parts of Riverlands, Chatsworth and Dassenberg, outside Malmesbury.

"The municipality's proposal was to leave the fourth dam and do any necessary work in the summer, when drier conditions will have worked in our favour," the municipality said. The department specialists on site,...