A flooding nightmare

In the past two weeks, homeowners have experienced an array of nightmares from the heavy rains damaging their properties and flooding their homes to roads deteriorating to rubble.

On March 26, a young couple’s life was turned upside down when heavy rains flooded their home, which is located near the greenbelt and Christian De Wet Road.

Etienne van Heerden was at home in the afternoon, waiting for his partner Genevieve Bannister to come home from work. At about 15:30, it started raining heavily, and he closed the windows and called Genevieve to check how far she was. Unaware of the flood that was coming, he closed the windows and made sure his two dogs were safe in their home.

“I thought everything was okay until I noticed the rain becoming increasingly stronger. We stay near the greenbelt, so the culverts are unable to handle all that stormwater, and it comes into our homes.

“I called my partner to check if she was okay, and to my surprise, she told me she was stuck on her way home. The roads were flooded, and water came gushing into her vehicle as she tried to navigate her way slowly back home safely. I tried hard not to panic because I was also stuck at home with no solution to go out and help her.

“The water was at such a high level that I tried my best to move all electrical devices and appliances to avoid the damage,” Etienne explained.

Also read: Flooding: A Welties homeowner’s nightmare

Fortunately, Genevieve found her way back home safely, only to find their home flooded with her partner and dogs stuck inside. She explained to the Northsider that she had to climb to the top of the balcony to try and get inside the house and assist Etienne with draining the water out.

Also read: Teen rescuer saves families from floods

“We could not open any of our doors because more water would come in, so climbing the balcony was the unsafe, but logical, option at the time. We had to sweep the water out and use many towels and buckets to try and avoid more water coming in,” Genevieve added.

The situation was exacerbated by the collapse of their backyard wall, which exposed their home to vagrants who live near the greenbelt and now poses potential security risks.

The young couple, like many other victims of these horrid floods, faces the daunting task of cleaning up and repairing their damaged home.