Cape Town - Torrential rains and flooding have damaged thousands of informal structures in and around Cape Town, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) said on Friday.
The city’s metropole was struck by heavy rains, gale-force winds, high seas and plummeting temperatures this week.
On Wednesday, the City saw flooding in informal settlements and roads, with rain and thunder, and heavy snowfall recorded in the northern and Overberg regions of the Western Cape.
DRM spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the rains caused substantial flooding in informal settlements across the city.
“Disaster Risk Management officials found approximately 4,000 structures that have been affected in the Khayelitsha, Du Noon, Philippi, Langa, Gugulethu, Masiphumelele, Mfuli, Delft, Hout Bay, Macassar, Sea Winds and Nyanga informal settlements,” Powell said.
She said no emergency shelter had been activated even though this remains a service open to affected residents, who can make use of it if they wish.
She said the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had also been apprised of the situation so that it can provide humanitarian relief to the affected residents.
Various municipal departments continued with their mopping-up operations as the rainfall eased on Friday morning.
“The transport department is clearing the stormwater system to expedite the drainage of floodwater and providing sand and milling to the affected informal settlements, while the informal settlements department is also busy with assessments and providing residents with flood kits,” Powell said.
Flooding in Zwezwe informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)
