The Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) is preparing for the ongoing effects of extreme weather conditions that have battered the Western Cape since Wednesday.
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Anton Bredell, local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC, says humanitarian organisations have been approached for aid. ‘We are also providing people in at-risk areas with regularly updated information on the situation. We have requested our non-governmental organisation partners to provide humanitarian relief to those affected in informal communities.’
‘All units have been placed on a high state of readiness to assist where necessary. Ongoing monitoring of the situation is being done together with the South African Weather Service and the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Dam Safety Unit.’
As per News24, a total of 12 schools in the Cape Winelands were forced to close, while 16 areas experienced power outages. To date, rivers have overflowed and roads have been flooded and blocked.
These are some of the recorded incidents, according to Bredell:
- Downstream flooding of the Wemmershoek Dam;
- The bank of the Lourens River in Somerset West burst, which had an impact on an Eskom substation and resulted in widespread power outages. Power in the Helderberg area has been restored since then;
- The Johnson and Johnson factory in Tokai was flooded after the bank of the Jakkalsvei Canal burst;
- Informal settlements were flooded, including Delft, Philippi, Strand, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Masiphumelele and Khayelitsha;
- Electricity outages in parts of the Overstrand Municipality occurred after electrical pylons in the mountains surrounding the area collapsed.
Sue Haupt, Klipfontein Mission Station community leader, says many people were left vulnerable after the flooding. ‘People are homeless due to the flooding in the area. Some of our schools closed their doors on Wednesday morning because of floods. We need assistance urgently, and we have been asking the City numerous times but every time, we are given empty promises.’
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The City of Cape Town says it continues to engage in efforts to attend to weather-related power outages, flooded roadways and uprooted trees. ‘The City is also providing milling and sand where feasible. The City‘s Roads and Infrastructure Management Services are assisting to divert water.’
‘The City’s services are doing everything possible to deal with the impacts of the weather, but intermittent rainfall is a challenge. The five-day forecast indicates that more rain is in the offing, although we await confirmation from the SA Weather Service.’
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