Cape Town - A severe weather warning by the SA Weather Service remained in place on Thursday, as the province continued to bear the brunt of torrential rainfall and gale-force winds.
The City’s disaster risk management teams had their hands full on Wednesday, conducting mop-up operations in several areas that experienced flooding.
Disaster management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said numerous City departments continued their efforts to alleviate the impact of the adverse weather, especially around blocked stormwater systems.
Powell confirmed that a school had to be evacuated while an animal shelter suffered water damage.
“City departments evacuated the learners and residents of St Paul’s Primary School in Faure and accommodation was arranged for them at St Paul’s Anglican Church,” she said.
“Fire and rescue services assisted our disaster management team in evacuating the learners, Powell added.
In other updates from around the city, infrastructure at the Old Faure Wine Farm in Macassar sustained water damage, while informal settlements in Delft were flooded and residents provided with sandbags.
The City’s recreation and parks department also removed uprooted trees on public land and roadways.
In Stellenbosch, municipality spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar said the Wemmershoek area was still without electricity.
“The flood water must still subside before work can begin on submerged infrastructure. Due to extremely heavy downpours, many roads in the municipal area are partially or completely flooded,” he said.
Grobbelaar said their teams were ready to respond to any emergencies and have closed off some roads.
Contact the municipal control room to report localised flooding or flood-related damage on 021 808 8999 or send a WhatsApp to 079 622 4722. A joint operations centre has been set up at the control room to handle all requests for assistance. He urged people to work through this channel.
Stellenbosch Mayor Gesie van Deventer advised residents to stay home to divert “more disastrous situations”.
Local government MEC Anton Bredell said the provincial disaster risk-management centre was on high alert and in continuous contact with all rescue-and-support stakeholders.
The department said the most significant incidents recorded was the flooding downstream of Wemmershoek Dam, while in Somerset West, the Lourens River burst its banks, impacting the Somerset West Eskom substation.
Cape Times