The Laingsburg Series

Date: 25 January 1981

Place: Laingsburg, Western Cape, RSA 

Death toll: 104

The Laingsburg flood of 25 January 1981 is known as the most serious disaster in the history of South Africa.  On Friday, Saturday  and Sunday the 25th rain fell continuously in and around Laingsburg, a small town in the Karoo between Cape Town and Beaufort West.  Up to 425mm rainfall was recorded that weekend, whereas the average rainfall per annum is only 175mm. By 08:00 on the Sunday morning the Buffels River, on whose banks the town is built, was in flood and overflowing into the town.  Simultaneously there was a confluence of two rivers, the Baviaans and the Wilgerhout, flowing from the area to the north known as the Moordenaars Karoo, which caused a high volume of water to accumulate at one time. This water entered the main stream just in front of the railway bridge towards the south of the town causing a natural blockage.  Pressure against the railway bridge is estimated to have been 8000 tons per second. The level of the Buffels River rose dramatically at about 12:00 and by 14:00 the town (CBD) was under water.

Residents of Laingsburg, who were used to seeing the Buffels River in flood from time to time, thought that it would soon subside again, not realizing that this was a devastating flood that would hit the town with masses of water coming from an extensive catchment area.  Moreover, the railway bridge and the road bridge over the N1 caused a huge obstruction as trees, plants, rocks, animals and many other objects blocked the flow of the river.  Within seconds, the town was turned into a dam.  When the gravel embankments leading to the bridges gave way, the water ran at a tremendous speed washing everything away.  In the blink of an eye, houses, people, almost the whole town disappeared.

The loss of life in Laingsburg was a hundred and four; men, women and children.  

Survivors of the flood tell stories of how they were washed down river, some clinging to anything that would float, how they clambered to safety along the banks or found themselves floating in the Floriskraal Dam among heaps of debris, 21 km from town.  The number of bodies that were recovered was 32; 72 were never found.

Bibliography

Marais, G.F.; Day of the Buffalo – The Laingsburg Flood; 1981; Paarl Printing Company Pty LTD; Paarl

Laingsburg info. (n.d.). Laingsburg Flood Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.laingsburg-info.co.za/town/business/306/laingsburg-flood-museum [Accessed 4 Jun. 2017].