Cape Town - Western Cape communities have for days battled several cold fronts which brought vast devastation and uprooted homes and lives while provincial and local NGOs have hurried to bring aid and save lives.
Inclement weather majorly affected areas in the Cape Winelands, Overberg and West Coast Districts.
Overberg District Municipality Emergency Services manager Reinard Geldenhuys said the hardest-hit two municipalities were Theewaterskloof and Overstrand.
“Theewaterskloof experienced flooding of roads and houses in the Grabouw and Villiersdorp area. In Grabouw people were temporarily housed. Overstrand experienced trees down, water through houses, roads flooded but no evacuations or temporary housing. Overstrand experienced major power disruptions with areas having no electricity for several days,” he said.
Geldenhuys said the Cape Agulhas Municipality had road closures between Arniston and Bredasdorp as well as flooded roads in the area due to the Karsrivier overflowing.
“Swellendam Municipality experienced trees down, roofs blown off and flooding in the Malgas area with several houses along the Breede River flooded.”
On Friday night, three men tried to cross the Buffeljagsrivier near Swellendam when one of them washed away and drowned. His body was recovered on Saturday.
A 64-year-old man was also found dead in his home in Vredendal on the West Coast on Saturday.
Geldenhuys said disaster teams were on standby for the last cold front passing the area yesterday.
Relief organisation Gift of the Givers (GOTG) conducted a massive aid distribution operation in Rawsonville, where more than 1 000 residents have been displaced.
GOTG had trouble reaching the community due to the closure of the Huguenot tunnel as a result of weather conditions, but was allowed to pass through yesterday morning, making it possible to deliver the much-needed humanitarian aid, project manager Ali Sablay said.
The tunnel was previously closed to all heavy vehicles. GOTG teams were in Citrusdal on Saturday and Wupperthal on Sunday, where aid was taken in via three helicopters. GOTG teams will be deployed to Clanwilliam, Vredendal and the West Coast today.
Sablay said there was an urgent need for blankets, mattresses and personal hygiene items.
The SA Weather Service said a series of cold fronts was expected to affect the Western and Northern Cape, spreading to the Eastern Cape, until Wednesday.
Premier Alan Winde issued an advisory on his personal Facebook page, appealing to residents to avoid unnecessary travel, remain at home as much as possible, and to contact local authorities in the event of an emergency.
West Coast District Municipality and West Coast Disaster Management Centre spokesperson Heinrich Robertson said floods in the region affected all five local municipalities in the West Coast with Cederberg and Matzikama being hardest-hit. He said road infrastructure and agricultural land suffered severe damage.
Agriculture MEC Dr Ivan Meyer held a media briefing at the Disaster Management Centre yesterday for short-term interventions to support the agricultural sector on the West Coast.
Cape Winelands District Municipality Communications deputy director Jo-Anne Otto said that in the Breede Valley, 1 200 people on the river banks were evacuated to the Rawsonville Town Hall.
In Drakenstein, more than 400 people were evacuated and housed in community halls, while in Witzenberg, 18 informal homes were destroyed and 80 people housed in a community hall had moved to friends and family.
“Damages to homes, specifically informal structures or those close to the river banks have been devastating. Damage to roads and passes has resulted in several routes being closed.”
Otto said many sportsfields and graveyards were waterlogged, which resulted in the postponement of funerals.
The Western Cape Education Department said three schools remained closed yesterday.
Spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said one of the schools was in Cape Town Metro East and two primary schools were in Robertson and Montagu in the Cape Winelands District.
Hammond said the department had received 99 weather-related requests from June 1.
“These requests reported various levels of damage to schools like roof damage, leaks and flooding. We are engaging with the schools to determine the extent of damages.”
The City has been applauded for its “quick” response in part of the Khayelitsha informal settlements, where hundreds of commuters were left stranded due to heavy rains that flooded their shacks.
Warnings by the weather service suggested that residents must exercise additional safety measures as the continuation of bad weather was still expected.
The governing party (DA) in Khayelitsha has expressed its gratitude over the actions taken by the City aiming to rescue those affected by heavy rains. According to DA constituency head in Khayelitsha, Noko Masipa, the City’s interventions included reducing the impact of flooding on the informal settlements built on wetlands by placing large stones around the area to ensure it was not waterlogged.
“We welcome the co-operation between City officials and Khayelitsha’s councillors for tending to the community’s needs during this crisis. Sadly, many residents were displaced as a result of the floods and now temporarily reside in the Andile Mzizi Hall. All roads that were flooded were also quickly unblocked. We thank the community for not dumping objects in the manholes, which could result in more flooding,” Masipa said.
The efforts made were, however, not received by many as the residents of RR, PJS and TRA informal dwellers in Site B were calling for the City to grant them permission to move to Mew Way Hall for the winter.
Councillor Khayalethu Gxasheka said: “There’s more than 2 000 residents affected in three informal areas of Site B. RR informal settlement has about 2 500 affected individuals, followed by 100 from PJS and also 100 in TRA. Currently, the residents are calling for the City to grant them permission to move to the Mew Way Hall for the rest of the winter season.”
Community services and health Mayco member Patricia Van der Ross said the City’s Recreation and Parks Department confirmed numerous tree-related incidents throughout the metropole, particularly in the southern suburbs where numerous trees had fallen.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za