By Anita Dangazele
- Floods hit at least 21 wards across Nelson Mandela Bay, with 84 incidents recorded including flooded homes, road closures and power outages.
- The city has activated six shelters providing blankets, food parcels and hot meals, with schools in flood-prone areas reopening on Friday.
More than 700 residents in Nelson Mandela Bay have been forced out of their homes after persistent rains flooded yards, homes and streets across the metro.
The evacuees were taken to the Lithembaletu Community Hall on Thursday. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has since activated six temporary shelters across the city, in Walmer, Asinavalo Kamvelihle, Grogro KwaLanga, Bayland, Qunu and Airport Valley. Residents are being provided with blankets, mattresses, food parcels and hot meals by municipal teams and NGOs.
At least 21 wards have been affected, with 84 incidents reported so far. These include flooded homes, flooded streets, power outages, stormwater problems and road closures. Communities affected include Missionvale, Kariega, Jubilee Park, Bayland, Chatty, Veeplaas, Motherwell, Walmer and New Brighton, among others.
No fatalities or injuries have been reported. Municipal teams remain deployed across affected areas.
Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe visited Ward 40 in Fairview, where many of those evacuated live in informal structures.
“We are now here at Fairview in Ward 40, an area that is a farm area, and all these residents have no formal structures, but they are faced with this condition of water coming into the houses,” she said.
Lobishe said the city has identified 23 housing sites, with seven actively accommodating evacuees. She added that most structures are not severely damaged.
Schools in flood-prone areas that closed during the midweek storm reopened on Friday, 5 June 2026.
The Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Zolile Williams, is expected to conduct a flood recovery oversight visit to areas affected by the recent severe weather conditions and flooding incidents across Nelson Mandela Bay later on Friday.
Pictured above: Residents displaced by flooding in Nelson Mandela Bay have been moved into temporary shelters across the metro, where food and blankets are being provided.
Image source: Supplied
