It’s been a long haul …
Storm repairs are nearly done
REPAIRS after last year’s Big Durban Storm in October are continuing, with some near completion – and others not.
Last October, 13 people died after a storm tore through the city, damaging roads and about 3 112 houses. Five months later, repairs are still ongoing.
Municipal spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said repairs began on February 1 after the city’s teams visited all affected areas to establish the amount of work that needed to be done.
“The delay was due to supply chain management processes that the city has to adhere to. The second phase will begin once all due processes have been followed. It is too early to estimate how much money has been used thus far. A report will be compiled once all work has been completed,” said Mthethwa.
However, last year after the storm, it was reported that during a meeting, the eThekwini Executive Council approved a report which stated that the damage caused was estimated to be more than R576 million.
While the first phase of repairs is under way, the contract for the tender for the second phase is being handled by the Bid Adjudication Committee.
In relation to damaged roads, there are four major sites in the Bluff, but repairs have only begun on two – Tara Road and the corner of Brighton and Donnelly roads.
This week The Independent on Saturday visited these two sites and found Tara Road was near completion.
A worker on site said they expected the road to be fully opened by Monday.
At the corner of Brighton and Donnelly roads, construction began three weeks ago and it is expected to take 10 full weeks before completion.
Community liaison officer Sibusiso Dlamini, who was on site, said the residents had been fully co-operative and patient during the process.
“We are in the process of fixing the main roads.”
In uMlazi’s T section, one of the roads within the hostel units which was severely damaged after a stormwater pipe burst is also being repaired.
A worker said the repairs included an upgrade of the burst pipes, as the old pipes were small and this was what caused them to burst.
The houses which make up the hostel have two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and toilet. Each house is shared by three tenants
Just below the damaged road, one of the houses has only a kitchen after the rest of the building was swept away.
Felokwakhe Mhlongo, who was in the house when the floods struck, said he still counted himself lucky to be alive. He had been sleeping in one of the bedrooms when disaster struck.
“I was woken by the sound of the bursting pipe. I got off the bed and went to the kitchen where I opened the door and saw that the foundation under the bedroom had been swept away completely,” he said.
Mhlongo said he immediately thought of going back into the bedroom to get his ID document.
“I was at the bedroom door and just as I put my foot down to step into the bedroom, I could hear a cracking sound coming from above me at the door frame.
“As soon as I jumped back, alarmed by the sound I had heard, the bedroom caved in before my eyes,” he said.
Mhlongo now shares a house next door.
“I was told to move into this house, but I was never told how the one I used to live in would be rebuilt or by whom,” he said.