WATCH | Eastern Cape floods: Komani residents evacuated after heavy rains cause river to overflow

Heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding in Komani, Eastern Cape, after the Komani River burst its banks on Wednesday morning.

• The Komani River has overflowed after heavy rains caused flooding in the area.
• Residents of Silvertown informal settlement had to be evacuated.
• The extent of the damage is being assessed and no fatalities have been reported.

Heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding in Komani, Eastern Cape, after the Komani River overflowed on Wednesday morning.

Disaster management teams were working to evacuate residents of the Silvertown informal settlement who are affected by the flooding, said Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza.

It had earlier been alleged that the water was the result of a dam wall bursting. However, Ganyaza said there had not been any damage to dam infrastructure.

“When the dam has reached its full capacity, automatically water flows through spillways. The district can assure the community that the dam infrastructure has not collapsed.”

Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said the extent of the damage was being assessed and that no deaths had been reported.

“Severe rainfall in Komani has caused flooding in some areas and overflow of the Komani River. This happened in the early hours of the morning [on] Wednesday, affecting surrounding areas and flow of traffic,” he said.

Some streets, including Perlem Road and Griffiths Street, and flooded bridges had been closed, said Kowa.

“Floods mostly affected low-lying areas, with the disaster management team assisting to evacuate those in danger.

“The disaster management team is assessing the extent of damages and traffic officials monitoring the situation controlling traffic flow and providing alternative routes.”

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