The heavy rains stretched the City’s stormwater infrastructure beyond capacity, affecting mostly the poor who live in low-lying areas which are prone to flooding.
The very high rainfall – up to 128mm of rain fell at the Newlands rainfall station within a 24-hour period on June 13 – stretched the City’s stormwater infrastructure beyond capacity, the City said in a statement.
The infrastructure is designed to manage run-off from rain events, but in cases of consistent and heavy rainfall as we have experienced since Sunday evening, the system becomes flooded.
Low-lying areas in particular are prone to flooding.
Various City departments were involved in mop up operations while assessing damage caused by three days of heavy rain experienced across the Metro.
The City have conducted flood assessments in approximately 100 informal settlements over a 48-hour period, said spokesperson for the Disaster Risk Management Centre, Charlotte Powell.
“These include settlements in Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Delft, Gugulethu, Masiphumulele, Philippi and Langa.
“Disaster management is liaising with SASSA, the Department of Social Development and our NGO partners to assist with soft relief.”
“The Road Infrastructure Management Department is assisting communities with pumping out water and providing milling, sand and sandbags where needed.”
Powell said that even though freeway ponding has been cleared up, the collapsed road on the N2, in Spine Road, between Macassar and Khayelitsha, was yet to be fixed.
Powell said Urban Waste Management has been clearing debris of the storm-water waste and the Electricity Department was attending to power outages.
On Wednesday the EFF criticised the City’s winter floods preparedness.
“In light of the devastating effects that are as an outcome of the current heavy rains that have destroyed many homes and displaced many residents in both informal and formal areas across the Cape Metro, our diagnosis is that the DA has failed to adequately provide a long lasting solution that will in future prevent the adverse effects of these torrents on vulnerable communities,” said the party’s Unathi Ntame
“DA mayor Geordin-Hill Lewis outlined a winter readiness programme on May 5, assuring residents of Cape Town that their homes will be protected from flooding.
“The DA promised residents that jet clean 100 kilometres of pipe in the most flood-prone parts of the city, identifying 38 high risk flood areas that have still never been visited. These empty promises have proven to be nothing else but a lip service.”
Earlier this week the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate said it was on target with plans to reach its target of 100 km of proactive jetting by the end of this month as part of its Winter Readiness Programme.
This is done to reduce sewer overflows by cleaning main sewer pipelines in most flood-prone areas using jetting machines to clear blockages.
On Wednesday, MEC for Health and Wellness Nomafrench Mbombo visited the Bishop Lavis Clinic which was among 10 healthcare facilities affected by the heavy rains across the province.