Emergency workers managed to rescue 877 people who were trapped during the floods in the farming areas around Musina last week. Several farmers, their employees and members of the SANDF were left stranded after heavy rains that swept most of the infrastructure in the province.

The affected areas included the farming area of Samaria, where more than 500 people spent the whole night on rooftops while waiting for the authorities to activate the rescue mission. Sixteen members of the SANDF in the Maroi and Weipe area were also left stranded as they were totally cut off from the outside world. At Parma Farm, seven family members were trapped inside their house as the road to their homes was no longer accessible. In the Noordgrens and Echo 7 area, 230 people were completely cut off as they were trapped on an island surrounded by water from the Limpopo River.

Earlier on Sunday evening, the Musina Municipality issued a strong warning to all the people who live within 5km of the banks of the Limpopo River to evacuate as the river was overflowing. Municipal spokesperson Wilson Dzebu said the rescue mission started on Monday morning. “We could not start immediately on Sunday evening as it was raining heavily. We also had to mobilize resources like helicopters and skilled people from other provinces.”

Dzebu said the rescue mission was a success as all the people who needed assistance were attended to. “We set up an assembly point at Dongola Ranch where all the people who were picked up from the farms by the choppers were offloaded. They were then given food, blankets and medical care before they were transported to the Musina show grounds, where they were given temporary shelter.”

At the time of going to press, Dzebu said there were 247 people being housed at the show grounds.