Cape Town - Residents at Klipfontein Mission Station east of Philippi say their homes are knee-deep in water from the recent rains and they have been waiting for the City to help since last week.
More than 50 houses and streets are still flooded, with some houses having leaking roofs and no electricity.
Aleanor Cloete said since last week, the disaster management services were contacted and had sent a confirmation that relevant departments were notified. However, no assistance had reached them. She said the community had not received any form of assistance.
“The community has already suffered from lockdown, not being able to work and provide for their families. Now the flood is putting more pressure on them. Some people can't even come out of their homes.
"A lot of these households are elderly people and children. They throw buckets of water outside every day, but the next morning the water is back in their houses,” she said.
Community leader Khoebaha Olifant Korana said the situation had disrupted the lives of the community and endangered children’s lives.
The community is next to Marikana informal settlement, where residents had made illegal connections.
Korana said six people had died as a result of the illegal connections last year, and water being all over the ground was extremely dangerous.
“If one of the live wires comes loose and lands in the water, it's a deadly situation,” he said.
He claimed that disaster management trucks had arrived in the area but were told that the land was private property, “so the trucks packed up and left. There was no leadership from the disaster management to ascertain the situation and take appropriate action and guide them into the community. There is no way that they can help the community by parking the trucks on the main road,” he said.
“There is no way that people can return to their homes and possessions until the City comes to pump the water and oversee the flood plans.
"It's too risky for people to share a hall that's not been prepared for incubation in terms of Covid-19. You can't pump 200 people into a tiny hall with no provision of social distance.”
Malusi Booi, the Mayco member human settlements, said the City had assisted the residents of Klipfontein Mission. Human rights commissioner Chris Nissen is expected to visit the community today.
@Mtuzeli