The rain has caused havoc in Cape Town, mudslides, rockfalls, road closures and power line outages have been reported across the metropole. The City of Cape Town’s Disaster and Risk Management teams are working on sorting out problems caused by flooding after heavy downpours.
“Various roads across the city have been affected by heavy downpours,” said Charlotte Powell, spokesperson for the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre. “The Roads and Stormwater Department is clearing roadways and unblocking drains.”
Flooding affected several areas on Sunday, including Somerset West, Woodstock, Elsies River, Goodwood, Parow, Macassar, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Uitsig, Ravensmead, Atlantis, Maitland and Kraaifontein.
Mudslides have been reported on Chapman’s Peak Drive and motorists have been advised to choose an alternative route, as the road is closed. Mudslides and uprooted trees have also been on Main Road between Simon’s town and Cape Point. Rockfalls have occurred on Clarence Drive in Gordon’s Bay and Victoria Road in Hout Bay, and motorists have been advised to proceed with caution.
“Approximately 4 000 dwellings have been affected in Khayelitsha, Philippi and Macassar,” Powell said. “No evacuations or emergency sheltering was activated. Power lines are down in Lansdowne, Gugulethu and Wynberg. Trees were uprooted in Constantia, Vredekloof, Durbanville, Tamboerskloof and Pinelands. Various City departments are making assessments and will continue the mop up operations that have been ongoing since the cold front hit,” said Powell.
Mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development, Brett Herron, said that the flooding that occurred this weekend was due to water being prevented from entering the stormwater system which is obstructed by debris.
Herron said the areas which are usually hit the hardest by flooding are areas that are close to a flood plain, as this is often the case with informal settlements. “Other areas where we have excessive dumping into the stormwater infrastructure are also prone to flooding,” he said.
Report all incidents to the Transport Information Centre on the Toll Free number: 0800 65 64 63 or email [email protected].
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