Cape Town floods displace thousands of informal settlement residents, more rain expected
The province's disaster management team issued a warning, saying disruptive rain would persist until the end of the weekend.
Disaster risk management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said rescue teams were assessing the extent of damage by the heavy rains.
'Assessments are under way after last night's heavy downpours. Reports have been received from a number of areas including Mfuleni, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.'
Powell said the Vygieskraal canal burst its banks, causing further flooding on a number of roads in the Athlone/Belgravia area.
The rains also caused structural damages to houses across the province including: :
Vygieskraal informal settlement: about 500 structures, affecting 2,000 residents;
Approximately 200 structures in Haji Ebrahim Crescent affecting 1,000 people; and
About 150 RDP homes, also in Vygieskraal, where an estimated 750 people were affected.
The disaster risk management centre has requested help with sandbags and milling, blankets and provision of hot meals and plastic sheeting for temporary shelter support.
Provincial traffic service spokesperson Kevin Jacobs said heavy rains caused the closure of the Borchard's Quarry link from the N2.
'While there was a lot of localised flooding of roadways late yesterday afternoon and early evening, these have since been cleared either through natural drainage or interventions from the relevant city departments.'
Jacobs warned more rain was expected, appealing to motorists to be cautious.
'We experience an increase in motor vehicle accidents during periods of inclement weather. Drive with your headlights on, reduce speed and increase your following distance.'
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DRM said in the Vygieskraal Informal Settlement, approximately 500 structures were damaged, which affected 2000 residents. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Gift of the Givers (GoTG) spokesperson Ali Sablay said their teams have been working around the clock to assist those affected by the current rainfall this weekend. Image: Gift of the Givers/Supplied Elsewhere approximately 200 structures in Haji Ebrahim Crescent were impacted, affecting 1000 persons, and 150 RDP homes, also in Vygieskraal, an estimated 750 people were affected. By 1pm on Saturday, 112 structures were affected in Burundi, Mfuleni, which impacted 119 persons. Other dwellings affected include 100 dwellings in Zola Informal Settlement and Oliver Tambo, 200 dwellings in Sweethome Farms, and approximately 200 dwellings each in The Ark, Khayelitsha and Island in Makhaza. DRM spokesperson Charlotte Powell said: 'Teams are on the ground, working to determine the extent of damage and type of assistance required. Weather-related power outages were experienced in Langa, Athlone, Crawford and Rondebosch – the Energy Department is attending to outages.' Sunday morning, Powell said Intertersite and Sanitizer informal settlements in Langa had 67 dwellings affected, which impacted 240 persons. 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