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29 September 2023
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South African coastline battered by storm surges, two deaths reported
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A series of powerful tidal surges battered coastal areas in South Africa’s Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces over the weekend of 16 September 2023. Two people died, a famous rock formation was destroyed, hikers had to be evacuated from the Otter Trail and severe damage was inflicted on property, including some well-known seaside restaurants and infrastructure along the coastline.
Coastal areas around Gordon’s Bay and Kalk Bay experienced excessive wave movement and strong winds on Saturday, which impacted communities along the coast, with continued rough and choppy seas, subsiding expected by Monday.
It was reported that a 93-year-old woman died after a freak wave hit a parking area in Leentjiesklip in George.
Seven people were injured when a freak wave hit a restaurant at Marina Beach near Southbroom in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
According to SAWS, a storm surge is a damaging phenomenon caused by a combination of strong onshore winds and low atmospheric pressure. “This results in abnormal volumes of water accumulating against the coastline, manifesting as a raised sea level which can last for several hours. Storm surges are major drivers of coastal flooding,” said SAWS.
SAWS meteorologist Lelo Kleinbooi said the possible impacts of a storm surge include damage to coastal infrastructure; potential modification of beaches and dunes, including beach erosion and vessels at sea taking on water and potentially capsizing. Also a general disruption of beachfront activities.
Western Cape
The South African Weather Services (SAWS) issued a yellow level 4 warning for storm surges along the coast from Still Bay to Plettenberg Bay, valid from 15 to 16 September 2023. Alerts for gale force winds with 60 to 70km wind speeds and significant high waves of five to seven metres were issued. The early warning included wave periods for 15 seconds along the South Coast, which was expected to rise to 16 to 18 seconds.
City of Cape Town
Disaster Management teams were deployed to commence with impact assessments. Initial assessments indicated damage to garage doors of eight properties in the Bikini Beach area of Gordon’s Bay, where several vehicles were washed away as well as sand and debris across the affected areas. The City’s Solid Waste department commenced clean-up operations in Bikini Beach, while Traffic Services and Law Enforcement assisted with road closures.
The St James tidal pool was damaged, with excessive sand and rocks deposited in the passenger tunnels. Minor damages to seating areas and broken windows were reported and the indoor tidal pool was filled with sand and rocks. One person sustained minor injuries.
The Brass Bell in Kalk Bay took a beating when spring-tide waves shattered its windows and flooded the restaurant and the Kalk Bay Theatre. A video from social media shows overturned furniture, panes of glass on the floor of the theatre and staff walking ankle-deep in water. The outside deck areas were also damaged. The restaurant was partially closed to the public.
Sandy Bay: NSRI Hout Bay and the City of Cape Town water rescue network were activated following eye-witness reports of a male teenager caught in currents at Sandy Bay on a body board. Two teenagers had been body boarding when the eyewitness noticed one male teenager exit the water but his friend was unable to follow due to what appeared to be a sudden storm surge creating strong rip currents in angry seas and the teenager was being swept out to sea towards large breaking sets, breaking swells. NSRI Hout Bay prepared to launch two NSRI rescue craft while local off-duty lifeguards, Western Cape Government Health EMS rescue squad and ambulance, NSRI Bakoven and NSRI Hout Bay rescue swimmers, the SA Police Services, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services and CoCT Law Enforcement responded. The eyewitness stayed on the line with the NSRI Hout Bay station commander and to his relief reported that the teenager had reached the beach and he and his body boarding friend were walking towards the Sandy Bay car park seemingly not injured.
West Coast District Municipality
In Saldanha Bay, the Karp Street is dry, however, the pump truck has been stationed as a precautionary measure, and Middelpos will be inspected. Sea Breeze Park/Resort experienced a high-water spillage (storm surge) coming from the seaside towards Sea Breeze Resort. The community service engineering team treated it as a stormwater flooded area and pumped the excess water to relieve the flood area. These areas were affected the worst and a few of the resort’s visitors evacuated to Saldanha resort.
In Bergrivier Municipality, a whale has washed up in Dwarskerbos.
Garden Route District Municipality
Beach access to Tweedestrand, Dana Bay, was washed away and barred from use by the public. Mossel Bay Municipality monitored several beaches throughout the night where damage was caused by the storm surge. Damage risk assessment was done across the municipal area, which included 26 beaches. Substantial damage was caused to access points at several beaches. The municipal environmental team reported superficial damage to beaches, including Dias and Klein Brak, which includes the toe of vegetative dunes all along the coast being removed to some degree. In general, sand and debris have been washed onto some parking areas and roads close to the ocean.
The storm surge and high spring tide in the Tsitsikamma Section of Garden Route National Park resulted in some challenges. The temporary restaurant structure within Tsitsikamma National Park has sustained severe damage and has been washed out by the storm surge and the restaurant closed. All guests on the Otter Trail were successfully evacuated through designated escape routes, ensuring their safety throughout the storm surge. The Waterfall hiking trail and the Mouth trails (suspension bridge) were temporarily closed.
Herold’s Bay
Waves have overflowed to parts of the boat ramp and to some of the residential houses.
Wilderness
In Wilderness, the Knysna-Plett Herald reported that the NSRI had confirmed that a 93-year-old woman died when she was swept off her feet at Leentjiesklip.
Still Bay and Jongensfontein
Hessequa mayor Grant Riddles said coastal areas in the municipality were damaged, including the Still Bay harbour, and roads were damaged in areas such as Witsand and Gouritzmond. Municipal teams had already been dispatched to start cleanup operations, he confirmed.
John Wills, from the Jongensfontein coastal settlement in the Hessequa municipality, described Saturday’s waves as “like an angry sea”. Wills, who is a member of the local ratepayers association, said some of the residents had said “they’ve never seen a sea as bad as yesterday”.
Totting up the damage, Wills said two cars had been swept into the sea and only one had been recovered. A pedestrian pathway – made of stone and concrete, had been destroyed. “All of that has been ripped,” he said.
Residences close to the sea were damaged, including garage doors. Debris was strewn across roads and electrical boxes were damaged, which left parts of the settlement without electricity. Wills described the waves as being 20-25 metres high.
He said the Hessequa municipality sent teams to clean the roads and fix the disrupted power supply. Electricity supply was “fairly close” to being completely restored, he said on Sunday afternoon. Wills said clean-up operations were under way and could take up to the rest of the week while fixing the damage could take up to six months.
Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela Bay
In Nelson Mandela Bay, all beaches in the municipality remained open but the metro issued a warning to the public to be cautious. James Prinsloo, who is the electrician at the Willows Beach Resort in Gqeberha, lives close to Willows Gate Number 5. His house was flooded and several wendy houses on the premises were pulled into the sea. Several caravans were also destroyed by the storm surges.
Jeffreys Bay
On Sunday afternoon, the NSRI issued a further warning for extremely rough sea conditions at high tide in Jeffreys Bay. People were asked to stay off the beaches and stay away from jetties. The body of a yet-to-be-identified man, estimated to be 68 years old, also washed up at Aston Bay. Pheelo Oliphant, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape’s Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), said there had been no reports of people being swept away by the rough sea, so at this stage they were not sure where the body had come from.
Kouga municipality issued a warning that the Aston Bay Causeway was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic as it is considered a high-risk area. On Sunday afternoon the municipality started work repairing the spit that was flooded, leaving the St Francis Bay canals exposed.
Jeffreys Bay’s well-known Walskipper beachfront restaurant was flooded and has been temporarily closed for repairs.
KwaZulu-Natal
Southbroom
During Sunday afternoon NSRI Shelly Beach were notified that Mariners Restaurant at Southbroom was flooded by a Storm Surge. NSRI were notified that no water rescue assistance was required. NSRI, in unconfirmed reports, believe that an NSRI pink rescue buoy had been used to assist a patron to safety. It is reported that serious injuries had been sustained in that incident.
Richards Bay
NSRI Richards Bay, SA Police Services and City of uMhlathuze Emergency Services and authorities attended at Alkanstrand and Palm Beach that had been flooded during a storm surge. Alkanstrand was closed and monitored by authorities through the night and damage was assessed by local authorities on Monday morning. No injuries were reported.
Sources: Western Cape PDMC, SAWS, TimesLive, NSRI, Daily Maverick
Quote of the week
“A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares.” ~ Debi Mazar
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Lee Raath-Brownie
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Cell: 082 371 0190
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Coastal areas around Gordon’s Bay and Kalk Bay experienced excessive wave movement and strong winds on Saturday, which impacted communities along the coast, with continued rough and choppy seas, subsiding expected by Monday.
It was reported that a 93-year-old woman died after a freak wave hit a parking area in Leentjiesklip in George.
Seven people were injured when a freak wave hit a restaurant at Marina Beach near Southbroom in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
According to SAWS, a storm surge is a damaging phenomenon caused by a combination of strong onshore winds and low atmospheric pressure. “This results in abnormal volumes of water accumulating against the coastline, manifesting as a raised sea level which can last for several hours. Storm surges are major drivers of coastal flooding,” said SAWS.
SAWS meteorologist Lelo Kleinbooi said the possible impacts of a storm surge include damage to coastal infrastructure; potential modification of beaches and dunes, including beach erosion and vessels at sea taking on water and potentially capsizing. Also a general disruption of beachfront activities.
Western Cape
The South African Weather Services (SAWS) issued a yellow level 4 warning for storm surges along the coast from Still Bay to Plettenberg Bay, valid from 15 to 16 September 2023. Alerts for gale force winds with 60 to 70km wind speeds and significant high waves of five to seven metres were issued. The early warning included wave periods for 15 seconds along the South Coast, which was expected to rise to 16 to 18 seconds.
City of Cape Town
Disaster Management teams were deployed to commence with impact assessments. Initial assessments indicated damage to garage doors of eight properties in the Bikini Beach area of Gordon’s Bay, where several vehicles were washed away as well as sand and debris across the affected areas. The City’s Solid Waste department commenced clean-up operations in Bikini Beach, while Traffic Services and Law Enforcement assisted with road closures.
The St James tidal pool was damaged, with excessive sand and rocks deposited in the passenger tunnels. Minor damages to seating areas and broken windows were reported and the indoor tidal pool was filled with sand and rocks. One person sustained minor injuries.
The Brass Bell in Kalk Bay took a beating when spring-tide waves shattered its windows and flooded the restaurant and the Kalk Bay Theatre. A video from social media shows overturned furniture, panes of glass on the floor of the theatre and staff walking ankle-deep in water. The outside deck areas were also damaged. The restaurant was partially closed to the public.
Sandy Bay: NSRI Hout Bay and the City of Cape Town water rescue network were activated following eye-witness reports of a male teenager caught in currents at Sandy Bay on a body board. Two teenagers had been body boarding when the eyewitness noticed one male teenager exit the water but his friend was unable to follow due to what appeared to be a sudden storm surge creating strong rip currents in angry seas and the teenager was being swept out to sea towards large breaking sets, breaking swells. NSRI Hout Bay prepared to launch two NSRI rescue craft while local off-duty lifeguards, Western Cape Government Health EMS rescue squad and ambulance, NSRI Bakoven and NSRI Hout Bay rescue swimmers, the SA Police Services, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services and CoCT Law Enforcement responded. The eyewitness stayed on the line with the NSRI Hout Bay station commander and to his relief reported that the teenager had reached the beach and he and his body boarding friend were walking towards the Sandy Bay car park seemingly not injured.
West Coast District Municipality
In Saldanha Bay, the Karp Street is dry, however, the pump truck has been stationed as a precautionary measure, and Middelpos will be inspected. Sea Breeze Park/Resort experienced a high-water spillage (storm surge) coming from the seaside towards Sea Breeze Resort. The community service engineering team treated it as a stormwater flooded area and pumped the excess water to relieve the flood area. These areas were affected the worst and a few of the resort’s visitors evacuated to Saldanha resort.
In Bergrivier Municipality, a whale has washed up in Dwarskerbos.
Garden Route District Municipality
Beach access to Tweedestrand, Dana Bay, was washed away and barred from use by the public. Mossel Bay Municipality monitored several beaches throughout the night where damage was caused by the storm surge. Damage risk assessment was done across the municipal area, which included 26 beaches. Substantial damage was caused to access points at several beaches. The municipal environmental team reported superficial damage to beaches, including Dias and Klein Brak, which includes the toe of vegetative dunes all along the coast being removed to some degree. In general, sand and debris have been washed onto some parking areas and roads close to the ocean.
The storm surge and high spring tide in the Tsitsikamma Section of Garden Route National Park resulted in some challenges. The temporary restaurant structure within Tsitsikamma National Park has sustained severe damage and has been washed out by the storm surge and the restaurant closed. All guests on the Otter Trail were successfully evacuated through designated escape routes, ensuring their safety throughout the storm surge. The Waterfall hiking trail and the Mouth trails (suspension bridge) were temporarily closed.
Herold’s Bay
Waves have overflowed to parts of the boat ramp and to some of the residential houses.
Wilderness
In Wilderness, the Knysna-Plett Herald reported that the NSRI had confirmed that a 93-year-old woman died when she was swept off her feet at Leentjiesklip.
Still Bay and Jongensfontein
Hessequa mayor Grant Riddles said coastal areas in the municipality were damaged, including the Still Bay harbour, and roads were damaged in areas such as Witsand and Gouritzmond. Municipal teams had already been dispatched to start cleanup operations, he confirmed.
John Wills, from the Jongensfontein coastal settlement in the Hessequa municipality, described Saturday’s waves as “like an angry sea”. Wills, who is a member of the local ratepayers association, said some of the residents had said “they’ve never seen a sea as bad as yesterday”.
Totting up the damage, Wills said two cars had been swept into the sea and only one had been recovered. A pedestrian pathway – made of stone and concrete, had been destroyed. “All of that has been ripped,” he said.
Residences close to the sea were damaged, including garage doors. Debris was strewn across roads and electrical boxes were damaged, which left parts of the settlement without electricity. Wills described the waves as being 20-25 metres high.
He said the Hessequa municipality sent teams to clean the roads and fix the disrupted power supply. Electricity supply was “fairly close” to being completely restored, he said on Sunday afternoon. Wills said clean-up operations were under way and could take up to the rest of the week while fixing the damage could take up to six months.
Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela Bay
In Nelson Mandela Bay, all beaches in the municipality remained open but the metro issued a warning to the public to be cautious. James Prinsloo, who is the electrician at the Willows Beach Resort in Gqeberha, lives close to Willows Gate Number 5. His house was flooded and several wendy houses on the premises were pulled into the sea. Several caravans were also destroyed by the storm surges.
Jeffreys Bay
On Sunday afternoon, the NSRI issued a further warning for extremely rough sea conditions at high tide in Jeffreys Bay. People were asked to stay off the beaches and stay away from jetties. The body of a yet-to-be-identified man, estimated to be 68 years old, also washed up at Aston Bay. Pheelo Oliphant, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape’s Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), said there had been no reports of people being swept away by the rough sea, so at this stage they were not sure where the body had come from.
Kouga municipality issued a warning that the Aston Bay Causeway was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic as it is considered a high-risk area. On Sunday afternoon the municipality started work repairing the spit that was flooded, leaving the St Francis Bay canals exposed.
Jeffreys Bay’s well-known Walskipper beachfront restaurant was flooded and has been temporarily closed for repairs.
KwaZulu-Natal
Southbroom
During Sunday afternoon NSRI Shelly Beach were notified that Mariners Restaurant at Southbroom was flooded by a Storm Surge. NSRI were notified that no water rescue assistance was required. NSRI, in unconfirmed reports, believe that an NSRI pink rescue buoy had been used to assist a patron to safety. It is reported that serious injuries had been sustained in that incident.
Richards Bay
NSRI Richards Bay, SA Police Services and City of uMhlathuze Emergency Services and authorities attended at Alkanstrand and Palm Beach that had been flooded during a storm surge. Alkanstrand was closed and monitored by authorities through the night and damage was assessed by local authorities on Monday morning. No injuries were reported.
Sources: Western Cape PDMC, SAWS, TimesLive, NSRI, Daily Maverick
Quote of the week
“A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares.” ~ Debi Mazar
Fire and Rescue International is your magazine.
Read it, use it and share it!
Read the latest magazine: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-vol-7-no-1.html
FRI magazine archive: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-archives.html
Enjoy the read!
Lee Raath-Brownie
Managing director
Cell: 082 371 0190
Contact us
Tel: 011 452 3135 or Email: [email protected]
Websites
www.fireandrescue.co
www.frimedia.org
www.facebook.com/FireandRescueInternational
www.twitter.com/FRI_magazine
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-raath-brownie-16668065/
