The disaster – though in undesirable ways – put to the test the readiness of the Free State Provincial Government to respond to crisis as affected families scrambled for any form of intervention. Decisively led by Premier Sisi Ntombela, the provincial government matched the pace of the flood as it hit the ground running to reach out to distressed families.
Ntombela and her MECs rushed to the disaster-stricken town on the same day to be with the community during the time of their greatest need. All relevant provincial departments contributed to the provincial government’s integrated interventional approach to ensure optimisation of resources and consolidation of efforts.
Provincial Government Director of Corporate Communications Setjhaba Maphalla said Ntombela and her entire cabinet were driven by the principles of the provincial government’s Operation Phethisa, which “recognises the oneness of government in breaking down the departmentalisation of service delivery”.
“It is about building the Free State we want,” said Maphalla, adding that Operation Phethisa was also about the development and implementation of early warning systems, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery systems.
From the moment the first report of the Jagersfontein disaster was logged at 06:40 last Sunday, the provincial Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team demonstrated their capabilities to contain highly demanding situations with professionalism, communication and advanced skills.
According to the EMS’s preliminary report, the EMS Station Manager in Jagersfontein notified the EMS Xhariep District Manager, LJ Basson, that the sludge dam wall at the mine had burst, and that the road entering Jagersfontein (R706) from Bloemfontein was covered by the mud slide, which was traveling at an alarming rate, and many community members had been badly affected.
The District Manager responded by activating the EMS Disaster Management Plan, which was followed by a media alert on the floods. The R706 road between Jagersfontein and Bloemfontein was closed at the R704 (Trompsburg) crossing.
Moreover, the Free State College of Emergency Care came on board to assist with advanced search and rescue skills, divided in different teams to cover the south, north and central locations.
In addition to the Free State EMS and College of Emergency Care, other role players in the joint mission included VR Med, ER24, Forensic Pathology, SAPS diving unit, SAPS K9 Search and Rescue, One Life 911, SARZA, SPCA, SANDF Air Force, Rocket HEMS, SAPS Mounted Horse Unit, Lugsteun (drone support), Free State Provincial Traffic and others.
On Sunday alone, over 80 patients were taken to various hospitals, namely Albert Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg, Diamant Hospital in Jagersfontein, Medi-Clinic as well as Pelonomi Hospital, both located in Bloemfontein. Patients were classified as stable and had no life-threatening injuries. Only one person, a man, was declared dead.
Through the Premier’s attuned and people-driven leadership, the provincial government facilitated the relocation of affected families to safe facilities in Bloemfontein and Fauresmith, a bill that is footed by the mine and not taxpayers. Additionally, the province identified four suitable sites on which to build temporary structures for affected residents whose homes were knocked down by the flood.
“We are waiting for sites to be cleaned up so that the technicians can access the houses so that structural assessments of houses can be done. We have engaged with other departments like Home Affairs and SASSA to help people with their identity documents and birth certificates. Some of the victims are learners. So, working with the MEC for Education, we will be taking them to hostels so that their studies are not interrupted,” Ntombela explained.
A thorough impact assessment found that the main Eskom substation in the area was dysfunctional because of the tragedy. This left the entire town without electricity, while water entity, Bloem Water, also struggled to operate in the area,
Following on the example set by Ntombela, technicians moved expeditiously to switch on the lights, and Bloem Water sent out water tankers to provide water to the community as the water treatment plant was inoperable due to power cuts.
Initially, the water entity had dispatched three mobile water trucks to the disaster area. Bloem Water had to contend with challenges with the water treatment plant as well as the waste water treatment plant which was covered in sludge.
As soon as the plant was operational again and most areas started receiving normal water supply, two of the water trucks were withdrawn from the area, with the remaining one servicing Charlesville, which was still disconnected from water supply.
At the time of print, the water treatment plant was still covered in sludge and the Kopanong Local Municipality together with the Department of Water and Sanitation were hard at work to clean the plant.
A calamity of this impact was bound to disrupt schooling in the area.
Three schools were directly affected, namely, Jagersfontein and Boaramello combined schools, as well as St Laurens Primary. The disaster culminated in the schools registering low attendance rates for reasons that included water and electricity cuts, loss of belongings and trauma.
The Free State Department of Education has put all affected pupils in a safe shelter and is arranging catch-up lessons for them.
