Insurers are bracing for losses in the region of millions of rand from the damage caused by the current inclement weather in parts of the Western Cape.
While it was too early to determine the full extent of the damage, Santam, one of South Africa’s largest short-term insurers, on Monday confirmed receiving 160 claims over the past 48 hours alone.
Santam said its assessors on the ground confirmed that most damage would be of high value due to the gale-force winds. The number of claims is expected to increase significantly as areas were still experiencing strong winds. From the claims filed by Monday morning, damage included roofs blown off and trees falling on properties.
The company also registered a large claim for the Blaauwklippen Agricultural Estate where historic buildings dating back to 1682 were burned to the ground.
Santam head of non-motor claims Rowland Ramalingam said: “It is too early to quantify the extent of the damage or how much the claims could possibly amount to. What we do know, however, is that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events is increasing and would therefore advise the public to take precautions where possible.”
Tarina Vlok, MD of Elite Risk Acceptances, a high-net-worth insurer and subsidiary of Old Mutual Insure, also said the quantum of losses from the storm will no doubt run into “millions”.
She said heritage properties, from Cape Dutch houses in the winelands that were built hundreds of years ago to special landmark sites, were especially at risk to weather-related events due to their age and were expensive to restore.
“Reinstating a heritage property is often much more expensive and takes longer to complete than a modern building. This is because old materials need to breathe and move according to external forces like moisture and temperature change. All repairs need to respect the materials, and insurers and their service providers must ensure that the correct matching and traditional materials are used,” said Vlok.
Auto & General head of marketing Johanni Jennings said the majority of the claims received as a result of the recent storms are non-motor related.
The South African Weather Service issued a level 9 weather warning for an intense cut-off low affecting the Western Cape, including the City, Cape Winelands, Overberg, and West Coast districts which were hit by strong winds and heavy downpours, causing damage to homes and infrastructure.
At least one death has been reported after a tree fell on a security guard patrolling along the fence of a property in Wellington.
A weather alert issued for Tuesday indicated a continuation of disruptive rain and flooding. The City’s Recreation and Parks Department’s after-hours tree emergency teams received at least 108 calls over the weekend of trees that had fallen over as a result of strong winds in areas including the City Bowl and southern suburbs, as well as the Helderberg Basin, including Firgrove, Strand, Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay.
Following a briefing at the City’s Disaster Risk Management co-ordination centre in Goodwood, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis also joined teams surveying structural damages in Nomzamo informal settlement, Morkel’s Cottage, and elsewhere in the Strand area.
More than 300 schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg education districts would also remain closed on Tuesday.
“We have already received reports of damage at 132 schools, ranging from minor to serious.
The total is likely to rise when staff return to school properties in the coming days,” Education MEC David Maynier said.
@ayandajongilanga Strong winds uprooted trees and damaged roofs #strongwinds #kasistories #storm #wind #cityofcapetown #weather #floods #StaySafe #besafe ♬ original sound - Ayanda
Eskom also confirmed extreme weather conditions had led to multiple faults across the province leaving some customers without electricity. Technicians were braving the bad weather to attend to these faults, said the power utility.
Meanwhile, Smartie Town informal settlement residents in Paarl are now among more than 1 000 people in the province who will have to pick up the pieces after a fire left them destitute.
More than 70 people were affected when 21 structures and seven formal houses burned to the ground on Sunday.
According to Drakenstein municipality spokesperson Riana Geldenhuys, 77 people were being accommodated in a municipal building and assisted with food and relief aid.
On the same day in Fish Hoek, seven houses were also affected by fires.
Councillor Simon Liell-Cock said the cause of the fire was yet to be known but the City activated forensic teams to investigate.
In Kayamandi, Stellenbosch, 1 500 people were left destitute and 101 in KTC, Nyanga, were affected by a blaze that ripped through the informal settlements on Saturday.
In all of these areas, efforts to try and rebuild were hampered by the inclement weather.
“We first made attempts on Sunday but had to stop due to safety concerns because the area is still full of debris and damaged zinc.
@ayandajongilanga Several houses completely destroyed by fire in Smartie Town in Paarl. #ayandandamane #fire #weather #wind #cityofcapetown #storm #storm #kasistories #strongwinds ♬ original sound - Ayanda
As residents we had hopes that things would be better today, but they remained the same,” said Kayamandi resident Asemahle Matyholo.
Cape Times