MORE FLOODING HITS CAPE

OVER 10 000 informal settlements residents have been left homeless or displaced by the woeste Kaapse weer at the weekend. 

For the second time in two weeks, the Mother City was battered by winter storms, causing widespread flooding. 

Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell reported that assessments are currently under way following the rain, with teams deployed to determine the full extent of the damage and type of assistance required.

Over the weekend, she said: “Reports have been received from several areas, including Mfuleni, Gugulethu, and Khayelitsha. 

“We can confirm that the Vygieskraal canal burst its banks, resulting in flooding on some roads in the Athlone/Belgravia area.”

A significant impact was reported in the Vygieskraal informal settlement, where approximately 500 structures were flooded, affecting an estimated 2 000 residents.

Around 200 structures in Haji Ebrahim Crescent were affected, impacting 1 000 people, and a further 150 RDP homes in the same area left an estimated 750 residents displaced.

Powell said the city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre had requested support in the form of sandbags and milling, plastic sheeting for shelter, blankets, and hot meals for affected residents.

In response to heavy downpours that have affected over 10 000 residents across various informal settlements and Cape Flats areas, Gift of the Givers has mobilised an urgent humanitarian response.

Project coordinator Ali Sablay said: “SOS calls and WhatsApp messages have been flooding in since the early hours of this morning, many accompanied by distressing images showing extensive damage to homes and widespread food contamination.

“Since the early hours of this morning, SOS calls and messages have been flooding in, many accompanied by distressing images showing extensive damage to homes and widespread food contamination.”

Their teams have been deployed to assist residents in Khayelitsha, Langa, Gugulethu, KTC, Nyanga, Philippi, Philippi East, Heideveld, Chris Nissan Park, Nomzamo, Lwandle, Valhalla Park, and Mfuleni.