The Daily Dispatch E-Edition

Pothole pandemonium as EC braces for wet La Niña summer

MIKE LOEWE

Pothole pandemonium reigns in the Buffalo City Metro.

Driving behaviour has become erratic as motorists would rather swerve into oncoming traffic than hit the rents in the road.

Non-stop rain for two weeks has caused tar patches to turn soggy and lift, revealing old, pernicious holes deeper than 15cm and more than than 4m².

A climate-affected La Niña (little girl) global weather pattern will carry on for the fourth year in a row — meaning rain and more rain until February, SA Weather Service Eastern Cape spokesperson Garth Sampson said on Friday.

This month, BCM has been blanketed by 18cm of water, which is triple the annual average for September.

Two weeks ago, the province was in the grip of a freezing Antarctic-influenced southwesterly cold front bringing snow and ice.

That ended last Thursday, and by Friday hot air associated with summer rain heralded the arrival from the north of strings of violent thunderstorm cells with wind and minor hail.

Sampson said this was part of a “sudden transition. The weather systems don’t know if it is winter or summer”.

He said severe weather events at this time of the year were part of the revised long-term weather service forecast — which was changed a few months ago from predicting a dry summer, to warning of a wetter summer until February.

This was a result of the lingering La Niña. Summer in the eastern half of the province is predicted to be slightly cooler by day — with temperatures down from the expected average of 25°C to 26°C — and higher at night, up from the average 18°C.

Residents can expect more thunderstorms and cloud cover in October and November.

The weather service is checking out claims of “black rain”, but Sampson suspects carbon from veld fires is getting into the water system.

The metro is saturated and sodden, with water pooling or seeping across major and minor roads, accompanied by sprays of loose pothole gravel and muddy run-off silt.

Homeowners have complained of water running down walls, and appliances fusing.

On Friday, the Dispatch monitored the hazardous stretch of the R102 between popular tourism venues Lavender Blue and Pine Creek.

It was mayhem. Two cars were stranded, rims buckled and tyres flat, one on the bridge of the Quenera tributary and the other 50m away.

Sifiso Xobho, driving a caddie with the words “Pa se van” stencilled on the back door, sat behind his steering wheel, a spanner lying next to the broken wheel and hazard lights flashing, awaiting help.

He said he had no chance. “There was just a big bang.”

The only sign of an emergency was a local tyre fitment company which had a board advertising “Rim repairs! Repair, don’t replace!”

Only 800m up the road, two BCM traffic officials were fining a driver in an “iphela” small taxi.

City spokesperson Sam Ngwenya said repair teams would start as soon as the potholes dried.

Engineers and superintendents had been inspecting and marking the potholes, starting with the most severe ones.

“We are starting with Oxford (Street), NEX (freeway), Bonza Bay Road, Western Avenue, Esplanade, and St George’s. We will also be working after hours.”

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2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://dispatch.pressreader.com/article/281621014217510

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