Floodwaters in municipalities in the Western Cape have caused widespread infrastructure damage after days of heavy rainfall, leaving many houses near riverbanks flooded and without power.
Footage shows a road cordoned off in George as floodwater completely submerges the carriageway. An informal settlement near the Great Brak River can also be seen flooded.
“We’ve just finished the calculations in terms of damages, 700 million rand (€36.66 million) in damages, only on municipal infrastructure, and then if I look at our roads infrastructure for the Western Cape, I think we’re close to two billion (€104 million) already,” said Gerhard Otto, Head of Garden Route Disaster Management.
The authority announced that severe weather linked to a cut-off low-pressure system brought heavy rain, strong winds, very cold conditions and rough seas to the province.
A man was swept away due to strong currents as he attempted to cross the Klip River at Waboomskraal, authorities said.
“There’s also people that’s cut off that can’t get to cafes and get to places to go buy food and can’t get to medical assistance and medical help. So we have to prioritise accessing them and getting medical assistance to some areas as well,” Otto added.
As heavy rains continue to keep the flood risk high, residents in Mossel Bay expressed their concern about increasing water levels in the river and nearby dams.
“There is a dam, the Wolverdans dam, which last week was at 103 percent. With all this rain coming now, we just worried that they might, it’s already overflowing, and we just worried that they might have to open the sluices, which will cause more damage,” said Wayne Van Wyk.
Across the Southern Cape, particularly the Garden Route and parts of the Central Karoo, disaster management teams have been monitoring flooding, road closures, power outages and damage to infrastructure.
Source: Viory
