Cape Town on high alert on Tuesday as storm damage and mop-up operations continue
severe weather Motorists are navigating flooded Klipfontein road near Mfuleni. Numerous roads have been flooded across the City of Cape Town as severe weather conditions continue to impact the metro.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Media
The City of Cape Town officials remain on high alert as adverse weather conditions are expected to persist on Tuesday.
The torrential rainfall and gale-force winds that battered the Mother City on Monday wreaked havoc and resulted in localised flooding, roofs being blown off, trees uprooted, road closures, and power outages.
The City said fooding was reported in at least 26 informal areas around the city with 10 703 structures impacted and 41 635 people adversely affected. Disaster relief teams were continuing efforts to restore electricity outages in affected areas and clearing trees that have been uprooted or lost branches due to the strong winds.
The City of Cape Town’s spokesperson for Disaster Risk Management, Charlotte Powell, said city services are continuing with mop-up operations.
“Teams are attending to service faults; however, some reinstatements are being delayed as it is not safe for staff to operate in the very windy conditions.
Our assessments in informal settlements, too, are continuing – where assessments have been completed, we have activated our NGO partners to provide immediate soft relief,” Powell said.
She said the impact from the frontal systems has been extensive.
“The impacts from the frontal systems have been extensive, and teams are working as quickly as possible to attend to them. We thank the public for their patience and cooperation.
We also remind everyone to please report service faults to the City’s corporate call centre or via the City’s App and to please only call the Public Emergency Communication Centre for incidents that present imminent danger to life or property,” Powell said.
The Table Mountain National Park has also announced the temporary closure of the park.
The Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, also confirmed the closure of all schools in the Western Cape on Tuesday, May 12.