Huge storm batters Knysna – Moneyweb

Assessors from insurance companies can start booking accommodation at guest houses in Mossel Bay, George and Knysna, and their bosses can get ready to write big cheques as a major storm continues to wreak havoc along the Garden Route.

Winds of nearly 80km an hour have uprooted trees, while heavy rainfall has damaged houses and infrastructure.

Read: Insurers still counting the costs of the Cape storms [Oct 2023]

By early Wednesday morning (6 May), several roads in the area had been closed due to falling trees and flood water.

At around 9am, a big blue gum tree fell across the N2 leading into Knysna from George, with traffic backing up within minutes. Another big tree fell over soon after and landed on top of a milk truck that had been caught in the congestion.

A women died and her daughter was admitted to hospital after a tree fell on the car they were driving, a few hundred metres from the local hospital.

Heavy rainfall

Municipalities in the area reported rainfall of above 100 millimetres in places overnight until 8am Wednesday morning, and heavy rain continued the rest of the day. By 3pm, most places has recorded a further 60mm, bring total rainfall since the storms began to close to 200mm.

The Knysna Kleingrysbos weather station reported 120mm of rainfall overnight, Charlesford 122mm and Diepwalle (featured in Dalene Matthee’s novels) had 106mm. George Airport said it measured nearly 60mm early morning and Wilderness Heights had 60mm.

Uniondale, 160km inland from George and usually quite dry, received 136mm of rain in the space of hours.

Municipalities have warned motorists that the two scenic passes between the Karoo and the coast – Meiringspoort Pass between Beaufort West and Oudtshoorn, and Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert – would be closed until further notice.

“Clean-up operations will resume once water levels subside,” according to Oudtshoorn municipality.

Many businesses in Sedgefield, Knysna and other areas decided not to open on Wednesday, or closed their doors after a few hours. By 2pm, Sedgefield and Knysna were largely deserted, with most businesses closed, except for local pubs and towing companies, which were all extremely busy.

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Prepared

Residents had been warned earlier in the week to prepare for the storms, and institutions did what they could. Most municipalities advised people that they would close non-essential services and suspend other services.

Kynsna, George and Sedgefield notified residents that refuse collection would be cancelled.

Some towns advised that ‘softer’ services such as those provided by tourism offices, vehicle testing stations, licensing departments and municipal offices would be cancelled for a few days.

The George campus of Nelson Mandela University sent an email to staff and students saying that classes on campus had been cancelled and replaced with online lectures, reminding one of the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2021.

Erring on the side of caution, the Western Cape Department of Education decided on Tuesday to close all public primary and secondary schools in the area for two days, Wednesday and Thursday. Many private schools followed suit.

Damage

However, the preparations and warnings could not stop the damage.

Knysna municipality reported on Wednesday morning that the N2 leading to and from the town had been blocked on both sides by fallen trees.

A tree fell on the N2 close to Belvidere, stopping traffic from George.

Several trees fell over and obstructed the road from the other side, stopping traffic from Plettenberg Bay.

The municipality warned motorists travelling from the Eastern Cape towards Cape Town to delay their travel plans or use the alternative route via Langkloof.

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Workers with chainsaws arrived quickly to deal with the fallen trees, and roads were open a few hours later. By then, traffic had thinned as people remained indoors.

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Knysna municipality also warned that other roads in the town had been flooded. Access between the town to The Heads and Leisure Isle was restricted, as was travel to smaller settlements on the outskirts.

“In addition, strong winds have significantly increased the risk of falling branches and tree instability,” it said. “Several roads are obstructed by fallen trees, and response teams are actively attending to these incidents.

“Residents and visitors are strongly urged to remain at home where possible and avoid unnecessary travel, exercise extreme caution when driving, and avoid parking vehicles under or near trees due to the heightened risk of damage or injury.”

Read:
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Areas in George, Wilderness, Sedgefield, Knysna, Uniondale and Oudtshoorn all reported electricity interruptions as a result of the adverse weather, with technicians attending to several faults simultaneously.

George municipality warned residents of many flooded streets in the city centre.

Leaks

This is not a normal storm.

Several buckets – around 20 – were placed in aisles to catch water from a leaking roof at Sedgefield Spar, housed in a fairly new (and presumably very expensive) building.

Pick n Pay also had buckets in its aisles in its newly renovated building a few blocks away.

SA maritime authorities warned seafarers to expect unusually large waves of up to seven metres, along a coast where even four-metre waves are regarded as rather big.

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A weather station in the Knysna estuary logged wind gusts of more than 40 knots early Wednesday morning, equal to 74 km/h.

Knysna Yacht Club (KYC) warned boat owners to ensure that their yachts were secure, but one broke free and the strong wind blew it into shallow waters.

Houseboats with low sides took on water when large waves formed in the estuary, making the usually calm bay look a bit like the ocean.

Source: Knysna Yacht Club member

By 2pm on Wednesday, the Goukamma River near Buffels Bay burst its banks as heavy rainfall streamed down the mountain, and the rising spring tide increased water levels from the ocean side.

Farmlands, barns, houses and restaurants on the riverbank were flooded.

And still the rain came, with more predicted until the middle of next week.

Read:
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It will take insurance companies weeks to tally up the damages. The impact is bound to be large enough to rate a mention when they next announce their results.

Read: A storm is brewing in the insurance sector

Meanwhile, cities and towns up the coast have issued warnings that the storm remains strong and is heading their way, potentially causing even more damage for residents and businesses to attend to while lodging claims with their insurers.

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