Western Cape residents warned of another cold front

Disaster Management in Cape Town has warned residents to brace themselves for another cold front that is expected to make landfall late on Sunday.

A series of cold fronts have wreaked havoc to large parts of the region since Thursday. Disaster Management has warned of an increased risk of flooding and continued gale force winds.

A resident of the Sewende Laan informal settlement at Macassar near Somerset West, whose home was flooded, says she has opted to stay with relatives instead of at an emergency shelter.

“I wasn’t scared, I was just sad to think we are going to lose everything and what are we going to do. We just started building and now everything is being destroyed. for me, I was just sad that’s all. It’s all I can say, because where are we going to get other things, at the moment. I am unemployed, and it’s very difficult for me. Luckily our children aren’t here, that’s all that I can say.”

Meanwhile, snow has fallen on the Drakensberg at Kokstad, Underberg and in the foothills between Howick and Merrivale in KwaZulu-Natal. Hailstorms also occurred in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu-Mali says they are monitoring the situation to see if roads will need to be closed. Temperatures as low as six degrees Celsius and minus four degrees Celsius are forecast for this morning in at Kokstad and Underberg.

City of Cape Town appeals to residents in informal settlements to move structures out of floodplain

The City of Cape Town has appealed to residents in informal settlements to remove their structures out of the floodplain as heavy storms continue to lash the Western Cape.

The City says engineering teams will not be able to assist residents on the floodplain as it is the natural course of flooding.

A number of informal settlements, in Philippi, Khayelitsha and Du Noon have been affected.

Disaster management officials say flood kits and sandbags are being provided.

An intense cold front hits the Western Cape:

Spokesperson Charlotte Powell says several roads across the city have also been flooded and rockfalls were reported in Camps Bay.

“Emergency sheltering has been activated at churches in the area. Sassa has been informed to assist with humanitarian relief. Roofs were blown off in Uitsig, while numerous trees were uprooted across the city notably in Wynberg, Bantry Bay and Constantia. These are being attended to by the Recreation and Parks Department.”

In Sandvlei at Macassar, near Somerset West, residents are knee-deep in water following the torrential rain of the past few days.

At least 10 homes have been flooded after the Eerste River burst its banks on Saturday morning.

An affected resident, Wanita Johnson, says she had to stay with relatives after rising floodwaters seeped into her home.

The homes of residents of Sandvlei at Macassar near Somerset West are water-logged following torrential rainfall that.

Residents of Sandvlei in Cape Town are knee-deep in water: