Storms, wind and fire leave thousands homeless in the Cape

The Western Cape has been hit by gale-force winds and heavy rains since the weekend. A number of areas were also affected by fires, made worse by the high winds.

The SA Weather Service issued a level 9 warning for an intense cut-off low pressure system.

As a precaution, the provincial government closed schools on Monday in the Cape winelands, Overberg, Helderberg, Macassar, Somerset West, Strand, Gordons Bay, Lwandle and Sir Lowry’s regions. Twenty-six schools reported storm damage.

Several roads were closed at the weekend and Chapman’s Peak Drive and Clarence Drive were still closed on Monday afternoon.

The City of Cape Town said that by early afternoon on Monday power supply had been restored in many of the roughly 30 areas affected by the storm.

The City’s recreation and parks department’s after-hours tree emergency teams fielded at least 108 calls, exceeding the total number of incidents attended to during a three-month period in winter 2023, which was 76.

The stormy weather came on top of a devastating fire in Kayamandi. At least 1,500 people were displaced after a fire fuelled by gale-force winds swept through the informal settlement on Saturday morning.

When GroundUp arrived in Kayamandi on Monday afternoon, residents were cleaning up their plots and trying to salvage what they could.

Ward councillor Ayanda Tomose (ANC) said the fire started at about 11.30am on Saturday.

“We opened a church and a hall where people will be able to store their things or sleep. Yesterday, we received assistance from Gift of the Givers.”

He said they were also receiving help from the province and the national department of human settlements. “From tomorrow, we will deliver material from the municipality,” said Tomose.

“We are trying so hard so that at least they can get back on their feet and regain the things that they’ve lost in the fire.”

“Last year we had a serious storm during winter. This one really caught us off guard because winter is just starting,” he said.

Lwandle

In Lwandle, both formal and informal dwellings were damaged.

Busiswa Moreneng Gili said: “We didn’t sleep at all. In the morning yesterday, the roof just blew off. Everything is damaged.

“I was supposed to go to work today, I can’t because of this,” she said.

Gift of the Givers arrived at the community hall in Lwandle at about 11am on Monday. Project manager Ali Sablay said the organisation’s team was assisting in 17 areas across the province.

“The operations will continue throughout the day. Our teams are on standby to assist as far as Beaufort West and the Garden Route,” he said.

Sablay said the organisation was providing blankets, warm clothing, hot meals and toiletries.

Nomzamo, Strand

Houses were flooded in Nomzamo, Strand. On Monday residents were trying to clear a canal that is prone to flooding when there is a storm. The Somerset Crossing Shopping Centre was also severely damaged.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis visited teams co-ordinating emergency responses in informal settlements in Nomzamo and other areas in the Helderberg. “My thanks to our front-line service staff working in very difficult and often dangerous conditions around the metro,” he said in a statement.

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