THE heavy rains came as a bittersweet relief in the drought-stricken Nelson Mandela Bay.
The heavy rains boosted the municipality's dams but negatively affected infrastructure due to power outages.
Additionally, some roads were waterlogged.
Mayor Gary van Niekerk said: “A section of Seaview Road is waterlogged, with the water at a depth of approximately 20cm. The dip area of Third Avenue, Newton Park, is also still closed due to the Baakens River being in full flow.
“Our combined dam levels rose by almost one percentage as recorded on 26 September. The dams are at 49,65%. We are also receiving good inflow into our dams and should know in a few days how much our dam levels will improve. However, we would like to encourage residents to keep on using water sparingly as restrictions are still in place due to the prevailing drought,” he said.
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Van Niekerk said external contractors were called to assist in restoring the electricity supply.
"We hope that the additional manpower will assist us to restore supply as soon as possible,” said van Niekerk.
Municipal acting disaster management head, Henry Lansdown, said a Joint Operating Centre was activated on 24 September to respond to disaster-related reports.
He said this follows the disruptive weather warning by the South African Weather Service last week.
“More than 100 residents from the Pollar Park informal settlement in Kuyga were evacuated due to the heavy rainfall that left some homes in the low-lying areas flooded. We recorded 112 people and were given 112 mattresses and 224 blankets.
"Some residents did not even sleep in the hall, while some did. Various teams have been deployed to attend to the damaged infrastructure and remove trees blocking access roads," Lansdown said.
