Deadly storm
WAVE POWER A massive swell breaks over the new harbour wall on Monday morning during one of the worst storms ever to hit our shores. Two people died and millions of rands' damage was caused to property.
Two people died while extensive damage to property was caused over the weekend in one of the most violent storms on land and sea ever to hit Hermanus.
Old timers say only the 1958 storm that saw waves splashing onto Marine Drive in front of the Windsor had been worse.
A strong northwesterly wind started blowing on Friday and reached its acme Saturday at midnight when the barometer dropped to below 990 mb - lower than any time during the preceding winter months.
The sea started to rise dangerously during spring tide on Sunday, while the strong wind blew in one sheath of rain upon the other. Most of the damage was caused around high tide in the early hours of Monday morning.
A woman was found dead in Hawston and a man in the industrial area - both are believed to have died of exposure to the extreme weather conditions.
The places hardest hit were:
· Beach Club, where seven houses were damaged by high seas shattering windows and glass doors. At No 12 the sliding door with its frame was ripped out of the wall and furniture inside the house was thrashed through the back door.
The complex manager, Daan van Deventer, says at about 03:30 on Monday the waves had reached the tarred road above the line of seafront houses.
· At Whale Rock Estate next door the gardens and wooden decks of some properties were wrecked by the waves. A guardhouse on the property washed away.
· New harbour. Massive swells, said to have reached 9 m, pounded the pier on Sunday night and Monday morning, causing the 20 m fishing trawler Lorelei to sink near her moorings.
Divers discovered a 2 m hole on her starboard side on Tuesday, with numerous smaller holes on port and stern.
Evidence is that a swell lifted the vessel out of the water onto the quay before she went down.
Amanda Harvey, spokesperson for the owners, Hermanus Processing Services, said the trawler would hopefully be floated and moved to the slipway as soon as weather permitted.
She gave the assurance that the vessel would not be left under water as long as the Venturer which sank in the same area a year ago.
Damage is estimated at about R1,5 M, but at this stage it is uncertain whether the hull, engine, gearbox or the electronics can be repaired.
· In Zwelihle two structures were demolished by the wind, while at least ten homes were flooded. About 40 people had to be accommodated in the community hall.
· A portion of Atlantic Drive in Onrus River had to be closed to traffic when waves broke over the tarmac adjacent to Harderbaai, leaving the road strewn with rocks and debris. Gardens were flooded while damage was caused to the garage of the house of Louwtjie Kruger.
The fence at the adjacent Onrus caravan park was damaged, while parts of the newly built cliff path washed away.
A local resident, Deon Esterhuyse, said homeowners along the road can regard themselves lucky, as the flood waters did not reach the same proportions as in 2002 when properties along that stretch of road were extensively damaged.
· The curator of the Old Harbour Museum, Elizabeth du Toit, described the storm as “terrible”. All the old fishing boats in the harbour washed away. Among them were Rosebud, Karel and Oupa Hannes, which had been restored at great cost recently.
Half of the gutting tables used by the old Hermanus fishermen were also shattered by the waves and washed away by the tide.
“We are very grateful that our office was not damaged, but we took precaution by barricading the windows,” Du Toit said. When the wind turned southwest on Monday waves were pounding the walls of the office.
The original harbour building was demolished in the 1958 storm, and she remarked that the weekend's tempest was exactly 50 years later. “Hopefully we will now have a breather for the next 50 years,” she quipped.
The entrance door and windows of the former perlemoen hatchery in the harbour, which now houses the SA Shark Conservancy, were shattered, while waves deposited sand and rocks in the building. · At the perlemoen farm Abagold a pumphouse was flooded, causing damage of about R80 000, says CEO Christo du Plessis.
About a third of the outlet pipe to the sea also washed away, afflicting another R40 000's damage.
· “Maintenance work is going to take us months”, says Sylvia Taylor of Bientang's Cave, where the downstairs waiting bar and the path to the Marine were “taken out completely”. Furthermore part of the restaurant deck and chairs were damaged, while the window was shattered.
“Sand and rocks are lying everywhere, but we can be lucky - it could have been much worse,” Taylor added.
· Both the Gearing's Point parking area and the Hermanuspietersfontein boardwalk had to be closed.
Rain, hail
The total rainfall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday varied between 50 and 80 mm. Some showers were accompanied by hail, lightning and thunder.
Temperatures plummeted to 6 ºC by Sunday morning, and never reached more than 11 ºC during the day, while the westerly wind still battered the shore at 50 km/h. The wind subsided momentarily early on Monday morning, but picked up again at noon as a new front approached land.
Light rain fell on Tuesday, with more bad weather predicted.
MC Botha
Article courtesy of Hermanus Times
