- Heavy flooding has caused chaos in Cape Town.
- The SA Weather Service has issued an Orange Level 6 warning for heavy rain.
- Metrorail is operating a limited service after a treefell on traction and signal power cables at Wittebome station.
Heavy rains and strong winds have left a trail of destruction in Cape Town, causing rivers to overflow, road closures, and severe flooding throughout the city.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued an Orange Level 6 warning for disruptive rain, leading to major disruption of traffic in the city and most parts of the Cape Winelands on Wednesday and Thursday.
"This may result in the flooding of roads and settlements, as well as damage to property and infrastructure," the SAWS said.The City's Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) said teams were assessing the situation to determine the extent of the overnight damage and where assistance was required.
DRMC spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the heavy rains had caused the Jakkalsvlei Canal, the Lourens River and Kayser River banks to burst.
This led to flooding at the Johnson & Johnson factory in Tokai. The Lourens River flooding affected the Somerset West Eskom substation.
"The City and Eskom are working together to restore the power in the Helderberg area. The Kay’s Caravan Park in Strand is being evacuated. The Help-n-Hand NGO is accommodating the residents," she said.
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Powell said various informal settlements in Philippi, Strand, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Masiphumelele and Khayelitsha had been flooded, and various roadways were affected by temporary stormwater overflows, uprooted trees, and mud on the road surface.
"We can confirm that numerous roadways have been flooded. There is also a mudslide report along Philip Kgosana Drive."
She added that teams would conduct assessments in high-risk areas and activate the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and non-government organisations to provide relief if needed.
Meanwhile, Capetonians captured video footage of the damage caused by the heavy rains as numerous roads were flooded, and frustrated locals had to take detours while sitting for hours in their vehicles.
Flooding occurred in:
- De La Ray Road direction Parow and UCT Belhar;
- N2 inbound, before Raapenberg Road;
- N1 inbound, before the M5 turn-off;
- N1 inbound, before the N7 turn-off in the direction of Goodwood;
- the M5 inbound, before the N2 turn-off;
- Gunners Circle, Epping (Jakes Gerwel turn-off into Gunners Circle);
- the M3 north and southbound at Newlands Avenue;
- Myrtle Road and Valhalla Drive, Bishop Lavis;
- Klipfontein Road, from the police station in the direction of the M5 at the Athlone bridge;
- Jan Smuts Drive, between Cambridge Road and Aden Road;
- Prince George Drive and Joe Marks intersection (on the Muizenberg side)
- Chukker Road and Racecourse Road, near to Oaklands High School;
- Juniper Street, Bonteheuwel, near to Central Park;
- Stellenbosch Arterial Road, just after the Wesbank traffic intersection, in the direction of Kuilsrivier;
- the corner of Simonsberg Road and Rose Road, Bishop Lavis;
- Jakes Gerwel and Voortrekker Road, Goodwood;
- Mitchells Plain
- Bream Way and Olyfberg Road, Nooitgedacht;
- the N2 inbound after the Jan Smuts Drive off-ramp;
- the M5, Ottery;
- Liesbeek Road;
- Mowbray; and
- Constantia Main Road.
Metrorail said it was operating a limited service on Wednesday after the extreme weather conditions caused a tree to fall on the traction and signal power cables on the southern line at Wittebome station.
A limited service will operate on the following lines:
- Malmesbury (terminating at Kraaifontein);
- Kraaifontein to Bellville;
- Eerste River to Bellville; and
- Simonstown to Fish Hoek.
"We understand the inconvenience caused to our customers and we would like to provide an update on the challenges faced and the intervention measures that are being implemented," the rail operator said in a statement.
"As the region, we continue to prioritise the safety and well-being of our customers in ensuring that we restore the train service."
Constantia ward councillor Emile Langenhoven said a massive tree had fallen in the main road.
"There haven't been many reports from the residents in the area of heavy flooding, however, communication was sent to them to log service requests if issues arise," she added.
Localized flooding in The Stand, Western Cape.
— ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) June 14, 2023
Photos : Lauren Bartie pic.twitter.com/2OUsSfcJey
Residents of Klipfontein Mission Station near Philippisaid their homes had been "abundantly overflowing with water".
They had been forced to leave their homes in the middle of the night to seek shelter elsewhere.
Local resident Collette van Rensburg said:
I'm so sad and devastated about the Klipfontein area. We are severely flooded, and all the authorities are looking the other way. People are homeless due to the flooding in the area.
She added that a local school had been forced to shut its doors on Wednesday morning.
"To turn parents and their kids away was not nice. My heart was broken, but what else could we do? Those kids can't be taught in such wet buildings," Van Rensburg said.
The resident claimed it was the "worst flooding ever" in the area.
"The area has been left in shambles by the City. We have been telling them to help us so that when the floods come, we don't have to leave our homes when the rain comes," Van Rensburg added.
In Muizenberg, residents Christopher and Jessica du Toit said they had sat for more than two hours in traffic to drop off their children at school in St James Road.
"We were coming from Baden Powell, and the flooding there was insane. People were driving and taking videos of the huge puddles of water we all were standing in with our cars," Christopher said.
"This made the traffic even slower, and drivers were definitely getting rowdy and impatient because we all left early to get to where we needed to be, but still, these rains caused problems for us all."
Newlands ward councillor Mikhail Manuel said flooding in the area was "insane".
"The flooding is very bad. Luckily, there were no reports from residents indicating they needed to evacuate their homes. However, many of them expressed concern about the flooded roads and long hours spent in traffic," he said.
Manuel added that residents had logged services with the City, and that officials had been deployed to assist with the flooding.
