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Gift of the Givers teams assessed storm damage in the Kanana, Barcelona and New Rest informal settlements in Gugulethu, Cape Town. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has issued a Level 8 warning for disruptive rains and winds, urging everyone to stay safe. The latest in a series of cold fronts is expected to make landfall on Thursday, triggering a weather warning. Some public schools in Cape Town, the Winelands, Overberg, Malmesbury, and Piketberg are set to close for the day. Since last Thursday, disruptive weather conditions including heavy rain, damaging winds, and in some parts, snow, have struck the Western Cape and parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape.
The City of Cape Town, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch municipalities are expected to be particularly hard-hit by the wild weather. About 4,000 structures across the Cape metro have been damaged by the recent storms, affecting 15,000 people. The West Coast village of Wupperthal was cut off, and flooding, road, and electricity disruptions hit the Overberg and Cape Winelands.
In Drakenstein Municipality, residents of Newton, Wellington, were evacuated due to the risk of a dam wall bursting. The municipality said that the first group of evacuees would be temporarily accommodated by family members and friends, while homeless people had been moved from low-lying areas to places of safety.
Western Cape Disaster Risk Management chief Colin Deiner said areas of concern included the Berg River and Misverstand dams, and the Lourens and Eerste rivers. Other warnings include a Level 6 warning for disruptive rain leading to flooding and possible mudslides in the Witzenberg and Swartland municipalities, as well as a Level 4 warning for damaging roads and bridges on the West Coast, northern Cape Winelands, and western Overberg.
