KARIEGA — Nearly two weeks after a cut-off low-pressure system unleashed more than 226 millimetres of rain in under 24 hours across Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, entire communities in Kariega remain without water and electricity, leaving residents displaced, frustrated, and fearful.
The slow-moving storm system, which struck over two weeks ago, caused rivers to burst their banks, flooded roads, uprooted trees, and severely damaged critical infrastructure. While municipal crews continue mop-up operations, many say the response has been far too slow.
Eighty-three-year-old Dolores Magnie and her husband Andrew narrowly escaped tragedy when powerful winds toppled a decades-old tree through their roof. The elderly couple has been displaced, with many of their belongings still trapped under the rubble.
“As I’m sitting here, my handbag is inside. I can’t get my old pay because all my cards and stuff are in there,” said Dolores Magnie. “They can’t get into my room because the cupboards are crushed. The toilet is flat on the floor. So, I actually don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to feel. I have to sleep at this one’s house tonight and someone else’s house the next night. At my age of 83, I can’t do it.”
Other residents said the area has long struggled with unreliable electricity and water supply even before the storms. Now, they say, they must stand watch every night so that cables are not stolen before the municipality comes to repair the lines.
“In the evenings you must not go early to bed. Got no food in the fridges anymore. We had to dump everything,” one resident said. “Every day my wife has to travel far to my daughter to get water or cook. But to do that you need gas and gas is expensive. We are always the last to get electricity. The water is now off.”
Residents in more affluent parts of the industrial town said the ongoing outages are making daily life nearly impossible. With only one bucket truck currently in operation, restoration efforts have been slow.
“We’ve got electric fencing and everything, but none of it is actually working now,” one resident said. “You’re scared. You’re actually scared at night to go to sleep because there’s no security around you. There’s just darkness. So, it’s been chaos. We live in a community where many people are working from home at the moment, and that affects the income. It’s not only just about not having water and electricity, it’s also about the income that you’re not getting.”
In an area still grappling with the impact of devastating 2024 floods, residents expressed anger over poor drainage maintenance. “Nobody comes to clean the drains properly so that water can flow,” one resident said. “We know that even if it rains heavily, we are in trouble because the water does not flow properly. They just come and take photos and make empty promises.”
While the municipality could not provide a definitive time frame for full electricity restoration across the metro, officials said water supply to affected areas should return by next week.
“We fully understand the frustrations of residents,” a municipal spokesperson said. “However, it is equally important to appreciate the scale of infrastructure damage caused by flooding, including damaged electricity poles, power lines, and related infrastructure. Restoration work has required specialized technical teams, safety assessments, and coordinated interventions across multiple affected areas within the metro. The municipality remains committed to restoring services as quickly, as safely, and as sustainably as possible.”
Community leaders said better disaster planning and infrastructure maintenance are needed to reduce the impact of severe weather events in the metro. The local business chamber has also warned that ongoing water and electricity instability makes it increasingly difficult to attract and retain investors in the city.
