On Sunday, September 11, 2022, residents of Jagersfontein were woken up by a different kind of noise. First, a whistle-blower was heard warning the sleeping community to rise and get out of their houses, a message repeated across the town. Soon thereafter, smashing sounds were heard as floods from the burst mine dam made catastrophic contact with
people’s residences and tore through the community, flattening the town’s infrastructure and destroying nearly 170 houses.
Upon hearing news about the disaster on Sunday, Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela and several members of her provincial cabinet rushed to the scene of the tragedy. On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo and Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Phumulo Masualle visited Jagersfontein and met with the affected families and community members at the Jacob Zuma Hall in Fauresmith.
The President then proceeded to the disaster site to get a first-hand look at what transpired.
Ramaphosa committed his government to assisting the affected families with housing and belongings. The President said he will be provided with a weekly report to keep track of how families are being assisted.
Ntombela was on Tuesday joined by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in a meeting with the victims in Bloemfontein where food parcels, clothing and other basic necessities were handed out.
Counted in the disaster’s trail of devastation is the loss of human life, a missing elderly man and woman as well as massive damage to property. The floods further displaced 243 residents and put a halt on teaching and learning in the area.
Communication was also badly affected as the power station and network tower were washed away by the mudslide. Additionally, more than 1 000 hectares of grazing land have been destroyed, with the SPCA reporting that over 700 animals were saved and at least 500 died.
Jagersfontein is a small mining town located 110km southwest of Bloemfontein. It falls under the Kopanong Local Municipality, which is part of the Xhariep District Municipality.
An eyewitness who also suffered great losses from the floods, Lindiwe Nogabe, recalled the events to Sunday World: “There was someone shouting that people should get out of their houses in the early hours of Sunday. Although the voice was not so clear, the owner of the house managed to go out in her pyjamas to see what was going on. She saw that something was coming down from the mine and immediately called on the neighbours to wake up and escape.”
Nogabe added: “They managed to go out and the front of the opposite houses completely collapsed. I think that is what eased the pressure so that our house would not fall. It, however, got inside the house and when we opened the door later, sludge almost pushed us out. There was just a lot of it inside the house.”
For other residents, a disaster this size is enough to make them fear for the future. One such resident is Linkeng Mphetola from one of the unaffected houses. Mphetola, like many other residents, including the Kopanong Local Municipality mayor, said it has always been an open secret that the mine posed a serious threat to the community, but added that she did not have even the slightest imagination of houses being smashed down by a furious sludge flood.
“I am ready to leave this place. I just want to be sure who I will be staying with because I don’t know what will happen next. I mean, the area is covered with the sludge from the mine. What if we are inhaling chemicals that will cause us TB in a few months?”
The Free State Provincial Government has speedily responded to the health concerns raised by the community by instituting tests to determine if the sludge contained any agents that could be toxic to human beings.
In a statement, the provincial government said the chemical assessments also included “affected river systems for levels of heavy metals and other chemicals, which if present in quantities beyond the allowable threshold may be harmful to both humans and animals”.
