As the cold front hit the Western Cape on Thursday, overnight the City of Cape Town was inundated with queries as torrential rain flooded several areas.
Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell said parts of the Cape metropole received 100mm of rainfall overnight and various informal settlements were badly affected. However, no injuries were reported overnight and the search for two people, a young girl and a man who fell into a canal on Thursday and were swept away by the strong current, continues.
“Across the province, roadways have been flooded and falling trees and other debris are causing challenges. There has been storm damage caused by the strong winds in the Karoo and the Garden Route as well as in the Cape Winelands,” Bredell said.
He said while this storm was expected to subside by Saturday, another storm was expected to make landfall on Sunday.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said City officials would be assessing the flood-hit areas, including Khayelitsha, Philippi, Wallacedene, Mfuleni and Delft. Sand and milling was being provided to residents in those areas and the informal settlement management department would be providing flood kits.
She said trees uprooted in the Camps Bay area resulted in road closures at Kloof and Lower Kloof, and Kloof and Nettleton roads.
In Atlantis, an uprooted tree damaged a vehicle, while trees were also uprooted in Kloof Street in Clifton.
Roadways across the City were flooded. The worst-affected areas were Tokai, Mitchells Plain, Ravensmead and Kuils River.
Areas such as Philippi, Browns Farm, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Grassy Park, Parkwood, Mitchells Plain, Claremont, Philippi, Lotus River and Retreat experienced power outages.
ANA Editing by Yaron Blecher
