The severe flooding which occurred in many parts of the country recently has caused real panic among communities in low-lying areas. The rising levels of dams and rivers, particularly the Vaal River, triggered evacuation orders for people living in danger zones. Although South Africa is considered a dry country, South Africans are not unfamiliar with life-threatening flash floods caused by heavy rains. Many still recall the destructive floods of February 1988 which caused widespread destruction to crops, infrastructure, houses, and buildings.
Flood victims who survive such an ordeal consider themselves fortunate when they receive evacuation orders well before the flood waters hit. However, not all people are so fortunate, especially not those who had drowned in the tragic Laingsburg flood of 25 January 1981. More than forty years ago the small Karoo town (laid out in 1881) in the Western Cape became the scene of utter tragedy and destruction when it was completely submerged in flood waters. Although a warning was sent out by the town clerk everything happened so suddenly that there was not enough time to escape.
On Saturday, 24 January, and Sunday, 25 January, more than 425 mm of rain fell in the Laingsburg area resulting in the Buffels River to burst its banks. Because the river flows through the town, most residents found themselves in harm’s way when the flood waters – described as a “wall of water” almost six metres high – came gushing down at an alarming speed that Sunday morning. Most people, particularly the elderly residents of the old age home, were caught off guard and they could not evacuate in time. At some places the water and mud reached a level of almost ten metres above the usual floodline. Some residents managed to climb into trees and onto the roofs of houses. Others clung to floating debris and were swept all the way downstream.
Because the bridges giving access to Laingsburg were either destroyed or blocked, search and rescue teams were delayed. Members of the South African Defence Force (SADF), who have arrived that evening, stepped in to assist. Some survivors were rescued 21 km away from town at the Floriskraal Dam. Many were not that fortunate though: a total of 104 people lost their lives that day. The Diko family lost nine members, all of them children. The reality of this unimaginable loss becomes tangible when the children’s names are read: Edika, Ertjie, Hilda, Jane, John, Lena, Nomvula, Sina, and baby Diko. Tragically, the bodies of 72 victims were never found.
Painful memories of the disaster still haunt survivors to this day. Recalling the events of that dreadful day, Marietha Brinckner (née Koorts) described her impression as follows: “Dit wat jy daar beleef het bly by jou. Ek sal graf toe gaan met daardie gesigte wat jy gesien het; hoe stowe en klerekaste in die Buffelsrivier afgekom het en hoe huise eers in die rondte gedraai en dan soos ’n stofwolk in hierdie malende, bruisende kolk van water verdwyn het.” (What you have experienced there remains with you. I will go to the grave with the faces I have seen; how stoves and wardrobes were swept down the Buffels River and how houses first turned around and then disappeared in this gushing whirlpool like a cloud of dust.)
Text: Derek du Bruyn
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