At least one person has died and another left with minor injuries from the impact of damaging swells caused by the spring tide at the weekend.
The high tide battered several establishments along the Eastern and Western Cape coastline on Saturday, including restaurants and houses.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said on Sunday that additional assessments were conducted at Kalk Bay’s Brass Bell restaurant, which was impacted by the damaging swells.
Enquiries to the restaurant were not answered by deadline on Sunday, but in a social media post Brass Bell said they were open while a few of their venues were closed as mop-up operations were under way.
In a social media post, a couple are seen recording themselves in a section of the restaurant seconds before a large swell crashes through the glass windows of the establishment.
“Initial assessments indicated damage to garage doors of eight properties in the Bikini Beach area of Gordon’s Bay, as well as sand and debris across the affected areas.
“The City’s solid waste department started with clean-up operations in Bikini Beach, while Traffic Services and Law Enforcement assisted with road closures.
“Reports of damage to the St James tidal pool have been received, with excessive sand and rocks being deposited in the passenger tunnels,” said Powell.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said their rescue team in the Wilderness, along with medics, attended to a fatal incident where a 93-year-old woman was swept off her feet by a wave that swept through a car park.
Lambinon extended their condolences to the family and urged residents to monitor the South African Weather Service (Saws) alert.
The Saws on Sunday issued another level 4 warning for damaging waves along the coastline, which remained in place until midnight on Sunday.
The warning comes as the spring tide swept all along the coast between Alexander Bay and Plettenberg Bay.
Enquiries to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provincial governments were unanswered by deadline on Sunday.
The Mossel Bay Municipality confirmed a number of affected areas on Sunday had resulted in beaches being closed to the public.
The George Municipality confirmed on Saturday that the N2 was flooded at Touws River near Salinas in Wilderness.
The municipality also closed all beaches to the public on Sunday.
At the Tsitsikamma National Park, meanwhile, SANParks evacuated staff to safe areas following the storm surge in the area.
The Saws has issued a level 5 warning for Tsitsikamma.
“The park management and local authorities are currently assessing the situation in as far as safety is concerned. All visitors and staff have been evacuated at this point to a safe area.
“The safety and well-being of all individuals within Tsitsikamma National Park is of utmost importance,” said SANParks.
Cape Times