Image Source: AP News
Ladysmith – After being stranded in the snow for around 17 hours, Abed Karim, a representative of the Al Imdaad Foundation, highlighted several critical gaps in the national disaster response system that could pose severe risks in future emergencies.
These gaps included insufficiently timed road closures, a lack of proactive measures, and delays in deploying essential equipment, such as snow graders and rescue vehicles.
The severe snowstorm that swept through the Berg area over the weekend left numerous motorists, including the young, elderly, and ill, trapped in freezing conditions, with some tragically losing their lives.
In response to these vulnerabilities, Karim urged for improved coordination and proactive planning between NGOs, local municipalities, and disaster management agencies to ensure more effective handling of such situations in the future.
“There were many challenges in this case, but I think what’s important to understand here is that the national disaster management, the ENTC, the national road traffic inspector, and all these people need to sit down and put together a proper plan of how to mitigate such situations before they happen.”
“If the warnings are out, vehicles might need to be stopped, whether people like it or not, to prevent them from going into dangerous situations. Once you’re stuck in a storm, there’s no way to move in any direction.”
“People were walking around 14 kilometres through the snow. If you get frozen or cold out there, you could die, as sadly happened to the two people who passed away. We send our condolences to their families.”
The snowstorm caused major disruptions for response teams attempting to reach those stranded on the roads, but the poor coordination and lack of preparedness further endangered many lives.
These delays meant that snow removal, road clearance, and the delivery of essential aid took much longer than necessary. As a result, some people, desperate to escape the freezing conditions, attempted to walk through deep snow in search of help.
Despite these challenges, the relevant authorities and aid organizations eventually arrived to assist the stranded motorists. Karim expressed particular gratitude to the surrounding communities who came together to offer their support.
“It was a very difficult situation, but the Al-Imdaad Foundation and many others responded as best as we could. While we couldn’t help everyone, we reached out to as many as possible. Brothers from Harrismith and Monontsha came to assist. I saw that some of the garages had made makeshift toilets, which were essential for children, the sick, and the elderly.”
“However, there needs to be a real plan in place going forward … One thing we need to address is how to handle situations where people are already stuck. But ideally, this shouldn’t happen at all.”
“Traffic needs to be stopped a day before, with clear communication and protocols in place to keep people out of danger. It’s far better to prevent people from getting into the snow than to deal with the challenges once they’re already trapped.”
