Cape Town – Emergency relief was being arranged for almost 10 000 residents of Knysna who have been forced to flee their homes in the face of a raging fire, which had devastated almost 20 suburbs of the popular south coast town.
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre said on Thursday morning that humanitarian support was being co-ordinated for an estimated 8 000-10 000 residents of the greater Knysna area.
The WCDMC confirmed a total of eight storm and fire related fatalities in the Western Cape which has been hammered by high winds, pounding rain and thunderous seas which caused havoc across large parts of Cape Town on Wednesday, ripping roofs off buildings and leading to widespread flooding in low-lying areas. Several thousand people were affected by the storm and had to be accommodated at emergency shelters.
According to the City of Cape Town, approximately 827 informal settlement structures were damaged due to flooding and having roofs blown off. "Humanitarian relief has been offered to 2 502 people across the Metro," authorities said.
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"A number of trees were uprooted in the Metro. Widespread electrical outages reported across the Metro are being assessed."
James-Brent Styan, spokesman for Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell, said: "The fire in Knysna is the largest and most destructive fire in a built up area in the Western Cape in recent memory with thousands displaced.
It comes on the back of the worst storm seen in the Western Cape in at least thirty years."
According to authorities, early estimates included severe devastation to the following suburbs of Knysna:
Brenton-on-Lake
Brenton-on-Sea
Nania
Eastford
Knysna Heights
Fisherhaven
Brakenhill
Belvedere Heights
Green Pastures
Greenfield
Jood se Kamp
White Location
Fuller damage assessments were due to be done later on Thursday.
"The fire continues to burn on two broad fronts – fought by all available resources," Styan said.
He added that WCDM would later release details of the humanitarian aid required so that the public could assist. A wide range of humanitarian agencies had already met during the course of Wednesday night and were collaborating to meet the need.
The WCDMC has also appealed to members of the public to adhere to requests to evacuate certain areas, after reports of some residents refusing to leave their homes. "Ultimately emergency services cannot be held responsible if members of the public to not heed legitimate evacuation requests," Styan said.
"The officials on the ground are monitoring the situation and will inform locals timeously, if and when additional evacuations become necessary. The officials on and offsite will not hesitate to take every action required to keep citizens safe."
The statement also said evacuees were being transported to various safety sites and that additional fire-fighting resources had been deployed to assist, "these include eight fire trucks from City of Cape Town, two from the Overberg district and 12 additional Working on fire teams".
An additional eight specialist vehicles from CapeNature have also been desployed to assist.
Strong winds and smoke has made the use of helicopters impossible up to this point. Some key infrastructure has been destroyed, which the WCDMC said had made communication difficult, but alternative communication measures had been established.
"The WCDMC is busy coordinating relief efforts and humanitarian relief aid for all affected areas across the Western Cape following the storm, including and with a specific focus on Knysna". A drop-off point will be established at the Eden Fire Station in George.
African News Agency
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