‘I've never seen anything like this': Eastern Cape survivor recounts flood nightmare
Carpenter Bathandwa Malipale survived a seven-hour ordeal during deadly floods in Slovo Park, the Eastern Cape.
The death toll from the floods has risen to 75, with many still missing.
Malipale described seeing cars submerged, people clinging to trees for safety, and his treacherous three-hour trek through flooded roads to reach his sister.
For seven hours on Tuesday night, Bathandwa Malipale stayed wide awake, fearing that closing his eyes might mean never waking up, as violent storms tore through Slovo Park village in Mthatha, the Eastern Cape.
The 40-year-old carpenter, who said he prayed for his survival, narrowly escaped a flooded home on the property where he was installing cupboards a few metres away.
'I have never seen anything like this before in my 40 years of living,' Malipale told News24.
The death toll from the floods that battered the Eastern Cape increased to 75, according to Gift of the Givers, which retrieved eight bodies, adding to the 67 announced by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa in a media briefing on Thursday afternoon.
Addressing the media in Mthatha on Thursday, Hlabisa - flanked by his provincial counterpart, Zolile Williams, and Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube - said the situation was a 'logistical nightmare' due to the large number of deaths, which was expected to increase as several people were still unaccounted for.
What started as an ordinary workday for Malipale on Tuesday quickly turned into a living nightmare.
He recounted how, while installing cupboards in an apartment, he watched as the sky turn an ominous shade of grey and rain began to fall.
'I planned to go home, but the sky changed quickly. I could see that it was going to rain, so I decided it was safer to stay over.'
But by around 19:00, Malipale said strong winds started lifting the zinc sheeting off the roof of the building he sought refuge in.
'I realised that I could not sleep in these conditions. I could see that things were not going to get [any] better.'
He said:
Hours went by, and I decided to check what was happening outside because people were screaming. I opened the door and saw water gushing down from the gate, and it came inside the house.
Terrified and desperate, Malipale sought shelter in another building on the property. The second building was a few metres from the one he had been in.
'I ran out of the house and tried to get to the other houses in the yard, which were on a higher level than the one I had planned to sleep in,' he said.
'That is where I ended up all night because I didn't want to find myself sleeping when this water entered the house. I could hear people screaming from outside.
'I also couldn't leave the house because I was also scared for my life. The water was flooding the yard.'
Soon, the area was plunged into darkness, and cellphone reception was lost.
He was stranded and unable to call for help.
'I decided to stay in the other house and wait until things calmed down outside so that I could go out and go get help,' Malipale said.
When the rain finally subsided at around 05:00 the following day, he plucked up the courage to go outside. He saw total destruction.
'The bed of the house where I initially planned to sleep was floating, blankets were wet, and utensils were also floating in the water.'
READ | 49 die in Mthatha deluge as authorities mull court action over flood-line homes
His cellphone battery had died, and, without a way to alert his family, he walked to his sister's workplace in town.
What would have been a 30-minute trip turned into a three-hour trek through flooded roads. By this time, Malipale said, his clothes were soaked.
'As I walked, I saw some cars covered by water, and these were at the houses close to the riverbanks. As I got closer, I saw people standing on their roofs, some holding [on to] trees, asking for help.
'I was also not brave enough to help. I was scared I'd get swept away by the water.'
He described the anguish of being unable to help, saying:
This situation has left me traumatised. A man who was screaming for help as he was hanging onto the tree... I saw him being swept away with the tree he was holding on to.
Malipale said he was struggling to come to terms with his ordeal.
'I haven't been able to return to work because I'm scared of what might happen when I'm there. But I still need to go finish the work,' he added.
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