Beach chaos in the Cape

Cape Town - Extreme sea swells swamped roads, swept swimmers off a harbour wall and sparked urgent warnings about widespread flooding yesterday.

But even that wasn’t enough to deter thousands of holidaymakers from flocking to beaches around the province.

As residents and visitors made their way to beaches, emergency personnel urged them to stay away from harbours and sea walls.

In Strand, some swimmers were reported as missing at sea, with rescuers, including those on the Air Mercy Service helicopter, searching for them at publication time.

The extreme tides also caused major traffic disruptions yesterday, a day Capetonians traditionally spend at beaches, with some roads having to be closed after being strewn with sand and seaweed.

Some homes along beachfronts were also affected, with seawater sweeping mounds of sand towards them.

Several campsites were also swamped.

The city is monitoring weather conditions.

Yesterday the NSRI blamed the rough conditions on a spring high tide.

“Extreme caution is advised to bathers and boaters around the coast,” it said in a statement.

Despite the warning, many holidaymakers could be seen trying to get on to rapidly filling beaches earlier yesterday.

The city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre said waves had peaked at 8m near Cape Point yesterday.

During the morning, while most holidaymakers were asleep, tidal waves had flooded tents and caravans at campsites along the West Coast, near Mamre, and on the coastline between Melkbosstrand and Milnerton Lagoon.

“The chalets at the Kleinbaai Resort near Melkbosstrand were standing under water, and stagnant water was visible in the recreational areas,” the Disaster Risk Management Centre said.

Holidaymakers had been moved to higher ground.

Benches had apparently also been washed into a tidal pool near Kalk Bay, and the city said three swimmers were washed off the harbour wall there.

They were rescued by lifeguards.

“The coastal roads between Hout Bay, Kalk Bay, Muizenberg, Strandfontein, Gordon’s Bay and Strand… were also flooded,” the centre said.

Baden Powell Drive was closed to motorists for hours yesterday after the extreme tides saw waves washing mounds of sand and seaweed on to stretches of it.

Traffic had to be diverted, and a number of confused motorists could be seen trying to find alternate routes to their destinations.

On stretches of the road itself, front-end loaders scraped soggy sand from the surface, which looked like it had become part of the beach.

At one point, a young seal made its way on to the sandy road surface, and appeared confused by the heavy-duty vehicles driving past.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA reported that many baby seals had washed up on the Muizenberg and Strandfontein beaches, and that inspectors were handling them.

Hundreds of holidaymakers could be seen making their way on to Strandfontein beach.

But most sat on a warm concrete area in front of a point where a number of children and adults were playing in the water.

“It’s too cold to get in there today,” said one woman, hugging herself as a chilly wind whipped her scarf around her.

Also in Strand, a section of the road along the beachfront was closed to motorists because of thick layers of sand washed on to it.

In Gordon’s Bay, piles of sand had been scraped from a road separating homes from the beachfront.

Some sand could still be seen caked up against the walls of some properties.

In another incident at sea yesterday, NSRI members reported they had secured an unmanned ski-boat that was being swept away after breaking its moorings at the Knysna Lagoon. - Weekend Argus