Cape Town - Heavy rains and strong north-westerly winds raged across the Western Cape on Wednesday, flooding shops and houses and turning manhole covers into temporary fountains.
And it’s not over yet - in the first major cold front of the winter more rain is expected on Thursday, accompanied by chilly south-easterly winds and a maximum temperature of 17°C.
In the city centre, parts of Strand, Wale and Adderley streets were awash, while in Long Street, some shops were flooded.
At Uniglo mobile shop, a computer and cellphone shop in Long Street, Nita Jacks said the shop lost a lot of afternoon business because of the heavy rain. “We had to switch off all our electronic appliances and turn away customers because the floor was flooded,” she said. “The pavement is too low and the water just pools outside the door and then comes inside. If it rains like this through winter, we are bound to lose a lot of money,” she said.
Greenmarket Square vendors left early. Trader Andrew Macua, 57, said their wooden goods were easily damaged in the rain. “I’ve been trading here for more than 10 years and every winter is bad for business.”
There were a number of accidents as Capetonians made their way home in the evening rush hour, but Cape Town Traffic Service’s Merle Lourens said there were no serious crashes.
A truck driver lost control of his vehicle on De Waal Drive late on Wednesday, causing traffic delays.
“We had a few fender-benders but nothing serious,” Lourens said.
Charlotte Powell, spokeswoman for the city’s disaster centre, said it had had reports of flooding in two informal settlements in Mitchells Plain and Masiphumelele.
“Nobody was evacuated. We will assess the areas today and mopping-up operations will continue,” she said.
Those affected were offered accommodation in halls and provided with hot meals and blankets.
Residents in a low-lying Philippi informal settlement said their houses had been flooded, and they were using buckets to clear the water. There was also flooding at Brown’s Farm.
Phumlani Makhete, who uses the shack behind his house as a church, said that they might have to cancel services because of the damage caused by the flood. “I tried to fix the leaks on the ceiling when I heard it would be raining, but a shack will always get wet no matter what you try.”
Makhete said they tried to keep water out by putting plastic sheeting on the roof and raising their entrances.
“Once the rainy weather starts it will only get worse. There is sand underneath here and it soaks up the water faster than we can get it out.”
Phumla Guzu said the water in her shack came from a puddle outside her door, which she says grew in a matter of minutes. “Water from the street came in and flooded the house. Luckily nothing came in through the ceiling just thought the front door.”
She said their shacks flooded every year and the weather always seems to have the upper hand. “It started raining around 1pm and my sofa was swimming.”